Magical War Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha: Photon
by KaiserPhotos
Summary: The story unfolds in an alternate timeline/universe that follows the life of Alicia T-Harlaown, the daughter of Fate T. Harlaown. When an unwanted memory from her mother's past returns to wreak havoc throughout the multiverse, young Alicia takes it upon herself to join the fray and investigate the cause of this familiar villain's sudden reappearance.
1. The Shooting Star

_"Heroas mori ... saeculum legendas Et hodie, novum est ut virago sua fode historia."_

_"Heroes die, but legends live forever… And today, a new heroine is about to carve her own legend."_

In the magical world of Mid-Childa, there live two powerful mages by the names of Fate T. Harlaown and Nanoha Takamachi. Together, they solved many cases and assisted in the rise of many great mages. While today they live their everyday lives as members of the instructor and investigation staff respectively, Fate in particular is also the mother of a little girl named Alicia Harlaown. With a mother of such legendary status, Alicia strives to be the best in all she does, especially to prove herself to her elder sister figure: Vivio Takamachi. What she didn't realize however was that today, her chance to shine had finally come, whether she was ready for it or not. Her magical incantation is "soaring" and this is her story.

**_Magical_****_ War Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha: Photon_  
**

[_Year 095 of the Mid-Childan Era_]

Today was an average day in the Takamachi-Harlaown household: Fate had already left for work, Nanoha was cooking breakfast, and young Alicia had woken up late for school yet again. "Ugh, I'm going to be late again!" cried the little blond girl.

Nanoha smiled. "You wouldn't be late if you had just gone to bed early like we told you to, Alicia," she chastised teasingly.

"Mouuu," whined Alicia. "I'm not like Vivio! I just can't wake up this early. It's impossible!"

"Nyahaha," laughed Nanoha. _"I don't know where she gets this from. As far as I know, Fate was never this lazy."_ Sighing to herself and placing Alicia's bento in a quickly made bag, Nanoha handed it to the running in place Alicia and waved her goodbye. "Be home before dinner!" yelled the auburn-haired mage to the scurrying little girl.

From the distance, Nanoha heard Alicia yell, "Okay! Thanks mama!" Out the door the little blond girl sped, leaving the door wide open in her frantic dash to school.

Once again Nanoha had been left alone in the house like every other morning. She took a moment to carefully pick up a photo from the fire place: one of herself standing next to Fate, who behind Vivio, who held a younger Alicia in her arms. A smile crept its way onto the white devil's lips as she muttered to herself, "What a lively family I have?" Giggling, she added, "And I wouldn't have it any other way!"

Up in the sky, unbeknownst to the average civilian as of yet, a shooting star was soaring across the sky.

Alicia ran through the streets, gracefully and yet at the same time very quickly shuffling through the crowds of people. As she ran through the crowded streets of her suburban neighborhood, she came across a large metal pipe laid out in the middle of the road. It was probably some prankster's idea of a barricade to the people living in her area.

Quickly looking around for another way around, Alicia found none. The little blond girl backed up as she focused her mana into her feet. Sparks of golden light danced along the soles of her shoes as said footwear began to glow a similar color. At last, Alicia began to dash toward the pipe. The little blond ran faster and faster with speed that would have made her mother proud. It took little time for the neighbors to take note of the Takamachi-Harlaown girl's actions.

"She won't make it!" an elderly man yelled.

"Hey, kid, are you crazy?" yelled a grisly man.

"Isn't that the Takamachi-Harlaown kid?" asked a woman standing to the side.

Alicia ignored the commotion she was causing and successfully cleared the obstacle with a powerful jump. Landing several paces from the metal pipe, she looked up with relief evident on her face, the sun shining upon her golden hair.

**[Record 01: The Shooting Star]**

Running with a panicked scream, Alicia made her way through the bustling streets of Cranagan. Taking note of an old woman sweeping outside of what appeared to be a bakery, the golden-haired girl waved as she yelled, "Good morning Mrs. Rose!"

The elderly woman looked up from her sweeping and smiled. "Good morning, Alicia! Late again, are we?" teased Mrs. Rose.

"Yeah! I'll be back later to buy some snacks! See ya!" yelled Alicia before dashing further into the distance.

Mrs. Rose smiled worriedly while muttering to herself, "Since she is Nanoha's and Fate's little girl, you would really think that she could use teleportation magic or something."

Not a single word Mrs. Rose muttered reach Alicia's ears; rather, the blond was too busy running to hear her. Seeing the school at last within the distance, Alicia's eyes lit up with hope. Perhaps just this once, she would not be late! That also meant that her mother would not scold her this afternoon. Her grin was all-too-obvious. _"Almost there, I've got this!"_ she mentally cheered. As Alicia drew closer to her destination, a shadow appeared before her. She paled as the shadow stepped out into light. It was the Knight of Iron Hammer: Vita, one of her mother's friends, and probably here to scold her for missing her combat training yesterday.

"Hey, Alicia! You didn't come to practice yesterday!" yelled Vita. Seeing Alicia's skittish face, she asked, "What? Are you late for school _again?_"

Alicia gulped. _"Oh man, it just **had **to be Vita of all people!" _the blond mentally whined. Laughing nervously, the blond yelled, "I'm sorry, Vita! I'll come by today, I promise! I'll even bring you that pastry from the bakery by my house!" _  
_

Vita had no time to reply. Alicia was long gone as she made a mad dash for her school. The red-head knight looked up at Graf Eisen before returning her attention to the school building where she could see Alicia quickly pulling the door open and running inside. Crossing her arms, Vita rolled her eyes while saying to herself, "Hmph, kids these days. What a pain!"

Having finally entered the school building, Alicia kindly greeted all who she had managed to run past with the brightest of smiles she could muster. She blanched when she had finally caught sight of the clock mounted to the wall on her right. "Wh-What? Only four minutes left? Awww man!" Continuing her mad dash, the blond did not notice all of the people looking outside the window.

"Whoa what's that!" one yelled, pointing at a crimson stream of light in the sky.

"Looks like a shooting star!" a boy cried.

"Stupid, shooting stars aren't red," another boy muttered quietly.

The crimson light collided with a purple-colored light in the sky, causing a gigantic show of lights. All who witnessed it were completely entranced by its splendor.

Alicia ignored all of it as she made her way up the stairs. Only one floor was left and only three minutes remained. She almost sighed in relief when she saw that she just might make it. Running through the pristine white hallways, sapphire blue tiles in every single hallway, she finally made her way towards her destination: the fourth floor! Looking down at her little black and white watch, she almost screamed in panic as she read the time. "O-Only one more minute left!" Running even faster than before, Alicia completely failed to notice the mysterious white "X" that appeared on her left palm as she dashed past the past the final window.

Seeing that she was finally in the clear, Alicia slowed down. The small blond quickly heaved with exhaustion. There were only a few seconds left and she could hear the teacher taking attendance. Thankfully, her name hadn't been called yet and they were still high up on the list of names. With only six seconds left to get to her seat and five names left on the roster before her own, Alicia finally opened the door and crept toward her desk at the other end of the room with incredible stealth. Sitting down, she thought to herself, _"Whew, talk about cutting it close!"_ Still unaware of the white "X" on her palm, Alicia let out a tired sigh. With that sigh, the mark disappeared without having been noticed by Alicia or any of her classmates.

Finally, the teacher called, "Alicia T-Harlaown?"

Smiling with a smug grin on her face, Alicia raised her hand and rasped in a tired voice, "H-Here!"

The teacher snickered. She was a woman roughly about her biological mother's age with short black hair and deep, amethyst eyes. "While I admit that you are on time with two seconds to spare and an entrance that would have made your parents proud, do try to come to class on time Ms. T-Harlaown. Perhaps then you would not require such an entrance."

"R-Right," replied Alicia. She smiled sheepishly as stifled giggles echoed all around her throughout the classroom.

* * *

While Alicia was busy with her everyday school life, Fate had just returned to the main office to report her findings. She was shocked however to find Nanoha already back. Raising an eyebrow, noticing no trainee in sight, she asked, "Did I miss a day on your calendar Nanoha? I thought you were teaching today."

Nanoha shook her head smiling. "Vita wanted to take them on a field trip today and I was asked to leave it to her," answered the auburn-haired mage while straightening a stack of papers.

Fate nodded with an "Oh" shape forming on her lips. Sitting down and making herself at home in the chair beside Nanoha's, she asked, "So did Alicia wake up in time for school?"

The white devil giggled. "I think she was late this morning, but who knows? Her mommy is quite the speed demon."

The blond swordswoman smiled. "Well you know, tomorrow's her birthday. Is it ready?"

"Yep," answered Nanoha with a nod. "The R & D crew finished it just this morning. They claim it to be their finest work since the upgrade they gave to Bardiche Assault during the Silver Cross Incident"

While Nanoha seemed completely pleased with this thought, a metaphorical sweat drop rolled down Fate's head. _"Does our daughter really need something that ridiculous?" _thought the blond swordswoman. "Th-That's quite a claim!" stuttered Fate. Smiling deviously, she said, "Let's hope she takes more after me! We wouldn't want anyone getting blown away by a Starlight Breaker!"

"Why not? I for one think it would be fun! She could be a master of both the sword _and _the cannon," replied Nanoha with a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

The two shared a laugh over the thought before sipping down two cups of coffee that were apparently brought by a server bot that had passed by unnoticed. Just as the two were about to catch up on the morning events, the warning signs went off.

Nanoha was the first to stand. "Hmm, I guess today's not going to be a cozy day in the office after all."

Fate followed Nanoha's lead with a worried countenance. "I wonder what's happened. We should go now, Nanoha."

The white devil smiled. "Yeah, let's go, Fate!"

It took the two aces little-to-no time at all to arrive at the observation bridge where Hayate was awaiting their arrival. The two of them immediately saluted their leader.

"What's going on, Commander?" Nanoha asked curiously.

Hayate shook her head. "I'm not too sure either," answered the commander. "A strange, unidentified signal was spotted gathering a dangerous amount of power near the edge of the city. We have reason to believe that the suspect was attempting to start a dimensional tremor. I have already sent Lieutenant Vita and Lieutenant Signum. Would you two be willing to assist?"

Fate nodded her head. "Of course. We'll head out right n-" Fate's voice was interrupted by a sudden transmission.

"This is Lieutenant Vita! Requesting back up for the detainment of the target! I repeat, requesting-"

The signal was broken leaving the three aces in shock. Vita's face had been scratched just slightly, enough to cause blood to leak from her forehead. Behind her was a mysterious figure with auburn hair a shade similar to Nanoha's.

Fate narrowed her eyes with interest. "Hey, Shari?"

"Yes? What's the matter Captain Testarossa?" answered Shari.

"Can you get that image back? Also, is it possible to zoom the screen in?" replied Fate. Her eyes never once lost the still image that was obscured by the static.

Nodding her head, Hayate said, "All hands focus on the image behind Vita and zoom the screen in."

With a little computer magic, the squad had done their work, zooming on the image to reveal a shocking new face. The aces gasped. It was a young boy roughly around Alicia's age, his eyes an eerily familiar blue. His hair was indeed similar to Nanoha's in color but worn wild at medium-length. His barrier jacket looked incredibly similar to Vivio's current one with the exception of the white gauntlets he wore around his forearms and the navy blue abdomen guard also shielding his entire torso. What was more shocking were the numerous tattoo lines covering the boys body. Tattoo lines that the three aces knew all too well: the markings of the eclipse virus.

Hayate blanched, dropping her clipboard in her bewilderment. "No way."

"Wh-What the?" the white devil gazed up in shock. "My god…" Nanoha could only stare in surprise, her shoulders shaking for reasons unknown.

Fate said nothing as she gazed up at the image with a hardened stare. Eyeing the image before her, something clicked in her mind. With an unreadable countenance, she turned to Commander Yagami and said, "I thought you said that nothing bad would come of leaving him with them."

The commander nodded agape. "I did. I did, but right now, I think we need to confirm our suspicions." Turning back to the command center, Hayate said, "Shari, please get a matching profile of all registered mages and/or knights with this appearance. Use his magical profile if you must."

Immediately punching in keys, Shari had the information up in a flash. She swiftly began to read the information. "He's a Mid-Childan mage from what it looks like. His name is Saber Gremory. Our records show that he registered himself under an alias and was requested to present his birth name. Shall I pull it up-"

"Just pull up the given name," interjected Hayate. "That aside, keep reading, please."

Shari cocked an eyebrow, but immediately returned to reading the data. "The boy's real given name is Yuusei. It appears that he registered himself in our database with the alias under his current guardian's request not too long after Alicia was registered for legal magic practice."

"Quite the coincidence," muttered Fate under her breath.

"Furthermore," Shari read on, "his parents are apparently under a classified lock. It won't let me into any more of his personal data. It's possible that he may be an Eclipse Infectee. He's using a divider similar to Thoma's judging from the image that we saw earlier."

A few seconds passed.

"Wait, hold on a second!"

Hayate raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter, Shari?"

Shari shook her head. "The next part wants you to input your security code, Commander. Will you?"

Fate and Nanoha looked towards Hayate, knowing what had to be done. The commander solemnly nodded her head as she strolled to Shari and input the code. Suddenly two final sentences appeared in red. Shari read them aloud. "Yuusei is the product of the latest breakthrough in gene-modifying technology via Project Photon. Yuusei was one of thirteen survivors of the tests out of-"

There was a pause.

Her features grim, Hayate looked away from the screen. "Out of how many, Shari?"

"Out of," Shari paused, "Out of one-hundred-seventy-five test subjects." The tension in the room suddenly grew tenfold. Shari turned around to find Nanoha and Fate looking at each other and then towards Hayate with looks filled with numerous and yet indescribable emotions.

"We're going," said Nanoha curtly.

Fate nodded. "Please excuse us," said the blond swordswoman as she trailed after the white devil.

Hayate remained where she stood. "Be safe," she offered quietly.

No one answered her.

Shari was bewildered. Never had she heard Nanoha speak to Hayate in such an almost irate manner.

Finally, the commander broke the silence. "Shari" she began, "I'll explain everything to you over lunch, but you must refrain from telling this to anyone else. What is about to be told to you is incredibly top secret. Is that understood?"

Shari was unsure of what to say, but eventually, she replied with a quiet but firm, "Very well."

* * *

At the scene of the incident, Fate and Nanoha had found only rubble. Eventually, they found Vita and Signum just barely injured but nevertheless in good shape.

"Signum!"yelled Fate.

"Vita!" cried Nanoha.

As the two captains rushed toward their lieutenants, Vita frowned and huffed. "You guys are late! What took ya?"

Nanoha's face immediately became all business. "We were trying to ID the enemy back on base but failed to come up with anything other than his given name."

Signum's focus was the sky. "He was," she paused, "A unique child. He looked very much like you Captain Takamachi and yet he fought in a manner very similar to Captain Testarossa."

"Did he wound either of you? Was he strong?" asked Nanoha curiously.

Vita shrugged. "I would have to say that he was decent. He reminds me a lot of you actually, Nanoha. His spells constantly changed at random from mid to long range. His skills in short range and close quarters combat are similar to Thoma though. Despite that, we did a pretty good number on him towards the end. He was a slippery one though."

The Knight of the Sword nodded. "Unfortunately, he escaped just a few minutes before the both of you arrived here. Please forgive the blunder."

Nanoha smiled. "It's fine, Signum. I'm just glad the two of you are safe."

Vita snorted. "Us? Taken down by a mere brat? Please!"

"Still," chimed Fate, "We should attempt to capture him as soon as possible. According to the report, he sounds like he could be trouble if we let him roam free."

Vita crossed her arms. "I guess. What I wanna know though is how he got that divider! I got a load of it while we were fighting, it's the same number as Thoma's but there's a strange acronym in front of it."

Time froze. Everyone seemed to realize something at once.

"Hold on, you're on to something Vita." Fate replied quietly.

"Only those registered with the TSAB's Eclipse Foundation can grant someone permission to arm themselves with either a real divider or a replica," muttered Signum.

"Which means that whoever has Yuusei," began Nanoha.

"Has some kind of connection with the higher ups," finished Fate.

"Hold up, so does that mean that the _bureau _planned all of this?" asked Vita loudly. "And who's Yuusei?"

"That's the child's name," answered Nanoha.

Vita's eyes lit up with interest. "Oh. Yuusei, huh? What a weird name."Narrowing her eyes, the Knight of the Iron Hammer murmured, "I don't like this."

"Neither do I," said Fate in agreement.

Nanoha remained silent. While everyone seemed to be formulating their own theory as to what was going on, Nanoha's mind was far too lost in thought to even begin thinking about why the mysterious boy with auburn hair and blue eyes was rampaging about. _"What in the world is going on here?"_ thought the white devil.

Noting Nanoha's unusual behavior, Signum eyed her with concern. "You know more about the boy then you're letting on, don't you?"

Fate didn't answer.

Nanoha's bangs fell over her eyes as she tried to find an answer. Alas, she found none.

The red-headed knight's eyebrows rose with concern. "Hey, are you okay?"

At last, Nanoha answered, "I'll tell you both later."

* * *

Some several hours later, Alicia had returned home with Yuuno. It was one of those unusual days where Nanoha and Fate had to call Yuuno to assist in picking up the children. Currently, he and Alicia were discussing the day's events while Vivio and Einhart were spending their time talking in Vivio's room.

"So, Alicia, I hear that tomorrow is your birthday," said Yuuno.

Alicia nodded. "Yeah that's right! Will you be able to come to the party, Yuuno?"

The librarian smiled. "Of course I will. I've also heard that Einhart and Vivio have taught you some of their Belkan fighting moves."

The little blond girl smirked. "Yup, it was awesome!" Giggling sheepishly, she added, "But I still have a lot of work to do. I still don't really have the coordination for the exact movements."

Yuuno snickered. "Don't you worry! I'm sure you'll have it down in no time. Your Fate's daughter after all."

"Of course!" cheered Alicia. "Speaking of Mama, did she tell you why she's coming home late today? It was so strange you know? Even Vita called to say that she had to cancel practice today to work with Mama, Nanoha-mama, and Signum on something so it must be really important."

Shaking his head, the librarian replied, "No, she didn't. I'm sure it's because she just wants to make sure that someone out there is safe though. She did however tell me to tell you that Erio and Caro are coming for your birthday tomorrow."

With eyes akin to those of neon lights, Alicia cheered. "Erio and Caro? Yay! It's been a long time since I last saw them."

"I'm sure they'll be just as happy to see you," assured Yuuno.

Two pairs of footsteps made their way into the living room. Upon turning their heads, Alicia and Yuuno discovered the source of the two footsteps to be Vivio and Einhart stopping by to raid the fridge.

"So what do you think we should do tomorrow before the party? It's our first day off in a while," asked Vivio cheerfully.

Einhart's thoughtful humming could be heard from Yuuno's and Alicia's location on the couch. "How about we go and spar down by the docks?" offered the minty-haired bruiser. "No one really goes there on Sunday, so we wouldn't have to worry about interruptions."

Vivio giggled. "True. So, what do you wanna get Alicia for her birthday?"

Once again, Einhart's hum sounded through the living room from the kitchen. Alicia leaned in to hear her answer. "I think we should get her a pair of armored gauntlets. They'd do nicely for upgrading the safety of her barrier jacket."

"But Alicia doesn't have a device yet, Ein," replied Vivio.

"I-I thought I told you not to call me that," stuttered Einhart.

The sankt kaiser chuckled deviously. "Oops, it just slipped out of my mouth."

After a brief pause, Einhart said, "Still, I think it would be a good idea. If you think about it, we were around Alicia's age when we got our devices. It wouldn't surprise me if your mothers got her one."

"Hmm," Vivio took a moment to consider this. "You have a point there. Alright! Gauntlets it is!" With that, the two trekked back to Vivio's room, completely unaware of the still-listening Yuuno and Alicia.

"Well, that's quite a spoiler. Wouldn't you say, Alicia?" asked Yuuno.

Alicia smiled widely. "Sure is! Do you know if Mama got me a device Yuuno?"

The librarian snickered at the little girl's enthusiasm. "Afraid not. What I can tell you though is that your chances of getting one are high."

The little girl cheered as she tightly embraced the librarian. "Tomorrow is gonna be awesome!"

Yuuno laughed as the door slowly opened.

At last, two voices yelled, "We're home!"

Vivio immediately rushed back down the stairs with Einhart in tow. Embracing her mother Vivio cheered, "Welcome home; Nanoha-mama, Fate-mama."

Einhart smiled before giving the two homeowners a graceful bow. "Welcome home."

Fate smiled. "Thanks you two. Do either of you know where Alicia is?"

The two nodded.

"I think she's with Yuuno in the living room," answered Vivio. "Oops!" Realizing her blunder, Vivio flushed furiously.

Smiling sheepishly, Einhart muttered, "Well, we blew that one."

Vivio laughed a little whilst shrugging her shoulders. _"Oh well. Can't do anything about it now, right?"_ she said over telepathy.

"Right," answered Einhart.

It was then that Vivio noticed something strange: Nanoha and Fate were incredibly quiet this evening. Normally the house was a lot more lively. Fate would run up to Alicia and greet her while Nanoha would laugh and cheerily wander off into the kitchen to prepare dinner. "Hey, are you two alright?" asked Vivio worriedly.

Realizing her mistake, Nanoha smiled warmly and ran a gentle hand through Vivio's hair. "Yes, everything's fine," answered the auburn-haired mage. "Thank you for asking though, Vivio."

Vivio wasn't convinced, but she smiled and cheerfully replied, "Okay!"

Having finished their greetings, Vivio and Einhart followed the two aces into the living room where Alicia waited with Yuuno. Not too long after entering the living room, Alicia dashed off of the couch and leaped into her mother's arms. Fate cradled her lovingly and at the moment, almost painfully.

Nanoha smiled as she watched the heartwarming scene, but never once did the image of the boy with auburn hair and blue eyes ever leave her mind.

* * *

"So, it appears that Yuusei made a ruckus in town today." A male voice announced in a cheery tone.

"Yes. He apparently met two Lieutenants in combat and was defeated; however, he managed to avoid capture. Precia is displeased. What shall we do about this, Prometheus?" asked a girl with flowing green hair and crimson eyes.

Prometheus was a grey haired boy around the age of seventeen. He grinned maliciously as his crimson eyes flickered with terrible intentions. "Nothing yet, Pandora. Let's wait to see if the other brat becomes active any time soon. After all, everyone needs to be present for the little game to play out properly. It wouldn't please our boss if the enemy died so soon."

Pandora nodded in agreement. "Very well then, Prometheus."

With the conversation finished, Prometheus looked out upon Mid-Childa from where he stood. The room was well furnished, obviously a hotel. He stood at what must have been the top floor's viewing window. Eyeing his bloodstained left palm, his grin widened. "Yuusei and Alicia. Do you have what it takes to play in our little game?"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

First, I want to apologize to new readers for making an OC-driven story. I know how that's not really a welcomed stunt around here. To my returning readers, I re-welcome you and hope that you enjoyed the new opening chapter.

You may have also noticed the chapters are longer. This was done to capture the length of a full anime episode and will basically combine two chapters from the original version into one. Some important things that should be made clear (for both readers new and old) are as follows:

1. This takes place 14 years after the Eclipse Incident (Force), so Nanoha and Fate are both 39 as of this story. The main storyline for the most part has not been changed. Most of the reboot is a bunch of grammar improvements, style improvements, and improved consistency between what I use from the real canon and my own canon.

2. This is an alternate timeline with made up endings for the canon Vivid and Force arcs, which have not actually ended; therefore, certain events to fill in the gaps between now and those time periods along with endings to both arcs have been made up and should not be taken as actual canon material. A quick example: most of the Hückebein were killed during the events of Force in this canon.

**TL;DR?** This is a revised version of "Magical Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha: Photon" with edits done to improve the story as a whole.

With all of that said, let the befriending begin!

KaiserPhotos signing off!


	2. The Shocking Discovery

**[Record 02: The Shocking Discovery]**

Alicia woke with a start. Today was finally the day. Her birthday always fell on the weekend, so there was never anything to fear from school. It was a fact that the little blond had a habit of milking for all it was worth. Grinning, she stretched her arms and unleashed a thunderous yawn.

"Alicia? Finally awake?" yelled Nanoha.

Nodding her head drowsily, Alicia answered, "Yes, I'm up!"

"Come down for breakfast sweety!"

An incredible aroma reached Alicia's nose. Nanoha always made her favorite blueberry pancakes for breakfast on her birthday. The little blond nearly dashed to her closet as she hastily threw on her outfit for the day. Today she was dressed in a black and white skirt with a similar-themed open top. Beneath it she wore an icy-blue t-shirt. Finally dressed, she made her way down the stairs and to the table where her godmother, her actual mother, Vivio, and Einhart were all waiting for her.

"Happy birthday Alicia!" they all cheered.

"Thanks everyone!" cried Alicia with a bright smile. Without a moment to lose, the little blond made her way to her seat. Surely enough there were her favorite blueberry pancakes. Alicia was just about to dig into her meal when Vivio suddenly took hold of one of her hands.

"Would you like to start opening some of your presents early?"asked her older sister.

Alicia raised an eyebrow. While she was all for opening presents, her parents usually made her wait until the actual party. _"Looks like this is going to be an interesting birthday after all,"_ the little blond thought to herself with surprise. Nodding her head, she answered, "Sure!"

Einhart handed her a small package wrapped in silvery-green paper. The minty-haired bruiser giggled as she watched Alicia hover over the small package with anticipation. _"I think you already know what it is, but please enjoy it," _said Einhart over telepathy.

Winking, Vivio added, _"Just remember to look surprised."_

The little blond happily obliged as she tore the silvery-green package open. A pair of gauntlets lay inside. They were very similar to the ones her sister wore, but the knuckle guards were more similar to the ones on Einhart's gauntlets. Alicia let out a hearty squeal. "Thanks Einhart! Thank you, Sis!"

For reasons unknown to Alicia, Vivio chuckled deviously. "What're you talking about Alicia? That's just from _Ein_."

Einhart felt a vein pop on her head. Still, she retained her typical composur. On a private telepathic line, Einhart warned, _"You will pay for that, Vivio."_

Vivio smiled sweetly from the other side of the table. Instead of answering, she ignored Einhart and handed Alicia a dark blue and purple package. "This one is from me. Hope you like it."

Alicia smiled as she tore the package open. This time, she found a black and silver jacket within the package. Her eyes widened. It was the same jacket she had been eyeing a few weeks ago at the local clothing store.

"Th-Thanks, Vivio!"

Running a gentle hand through Alicia's hair, Vivio replied, "You're welcome kiddo."

With the pleasantries finished. Einhart stood from her seat. "Vivio, if you'd please." It wasn't a request. It was a command.

The sankt kaiser stood from her seat with a cheeky grin plastered onto her face. "Sure, I could use the morning exercise."

The grin was returned. "Just don't make sure to get the wind knocked out of you this time," teased Einhart.

"I-I just wasn't ready that time!" yelled Vivio defiantly. A deep blush spread across the sankt kaiser's face.

Einhart replied in a similar manner to Vivio's response earlier this morning by completely ignoring the retort with an innocent smile. Annoyed, Vivio followed the minty-haired girl out of the house and into the backyard.

With the two gone, Fate and Nanoha stood from their chairs.

"Alicia, Mommy and I will be home later today around lunch," announced the white devil. "We'll be back real soon okay?"

"Okay," replied a merry Alicia. She was far too preoccupied slipping on her gloves to notice that the two of them were leaving.

Fate smiled and warmly embraced her daughter. "Now remember to take good care of those and to be good while we're gone. I promise that we'll be back as soon as possible. Erio and Caro will be here soon."

Alicia beamed, answering her mother by looking over her shoulder and beckoning Nanoha toward them. Smiling, the auburn-haired mage joined them in their embrace. With the tender moment finished, the two aces left, leaving Alicia alone in the house. As she clenched a fist with her new gauntlets, the little blond muttered cheerfully,"They've got a real firm fit. It's nice."

Not being a practitioner of the Modern Belkan or Ancient Belkan styles, Alicia was never able to grasp fighting as well as her friends. In all around combat it was considered a weakness for her. Finding her way to the glass sliding door, the little blond made her way outside to watch the still going sparring match between Vivio and Einhart. They were matching each other blow for blow and no one had managed to land an actual hit yet.

The little blond mage watched them with great enthusiasm. Their skill was on a whole other level. While her mother and godmother may be two of the greatest magicians of their age, Vivio and Einhart were two of the greatest knights of their age. Vivio was doing well in following Hayate's footsteps toward becoming the next great Mage-Knight: a master of both the Belkan and Mid-Childan magic systems.

Finally after what was actually a few hours, someone landed a blow. In a blur of motion Vivio had managed to strike Einhart in the chest with her fist. The minty-haired bruiser staggered back as Vivio huffed and puffed while putting distance between herself and Einhart. Smirking, the minty-haired bruiser taunted, "What's the matter? It took that much just to land a solid punch?"

Vivio smiled at Einhart through gritted teeth. "I'm… Just… Warming up!"

Einhart's muscles tensed as she dodged Vivio's lunge, striking the sankt kaiser with her Haou Arts: Danku Ken at point-blank range. Vivio spiraled backwards, sailing through the air until eventually striking land. She cringed and coughed, but eventually picked herself up, returning to her fighting stance. At last, Einhart sighed. "Your endurance has improved, but you're recovery is still sort of sloppy. Let's work on that a little more tomorrow."

Still trying to regain her composure, Vivio replied, "Y-Yeah." After taking another deep breath, the sankt kaiser whined aloud. "Geez, Ein, that punch of yours is really something else. Had you hit me harder, I probably would have broken a rib or two!"

The minty-haired bruiser flushed at Vivio's words of praise. "I-It… Still needs work," she replied softly. After a calming breath, Einhart sauntered towards Vivio as their barrier jackets disappeared, returning them to their usual outfits. With their bodies finally matured into those of adults, Asteion and Sacred Heart reappeared much sooner than they used to.

Seeing that the battle was over, Alicia clapped for the two of them. "That was amazing! Einhart totally side-stepped you and and you in the gut, Sis! It was so cool!"

Vivio chuckled sheepishly while Einhart beamed at the praise.

"Looks like you two are active as ever," teased a masculine voice. Turning around, the three found Erio and Caro waiting for them by the glass door.

"Nah, I think I'm even stronger than before," replied a smiling Vivio.

Caro giggled. "We can see that!"

Noticing the little girl directly in front of them, Erio ruffled Alicia's hair and said, "Happy birthday, Alicia."

Alicia smiled. "Thanks, Erio." Looking towards Caro, she said, "It's good to see you again, Caro. How are you?"

Caro giggled while waving a red and pink package around. "I'm great, thanks! I'll place this on the table for later this afternoon."

"Okay!" replied Alicia.

Noticing her gloves, Erio asked, "Hey, did you get new gauntlets? Those are really nice."

"She needed gauntlets to make actual use of her Strike Arts practice. The gloves they use for basic practice just aren't anything close to the real thing," explained Einhart coolly.

Erio nodded. "I see. Well that sounds cool! Hey, where are Nanoha and Fate?"

"At work," answered Vivio coolly. "They'll be back in an hour."

"What? That much time went by already?" yelled a bewildered Alicia.

Vivio giggled. "Yup, we spent a lot of time out here today. Wanna go back inside?" Looking at her friends she added telepathically, _"Erio, Caro, Einhart; let's go to my room after we give Alicia something to do."_

The three recipients of Vivio's telepathic message nodded.

"Aw, no fair. I wanna know what you guys were talking about," cried Alicia with an envious pout.

Patting her head, Erio replied, "Alicia, it looks like we have to talk about work right now. Is it okay if you wait for us in your room? You could play a game or two while you're waiting."

She wasn't entirely satisfied with Erio's reply, but Alicia made no fuss over the matter. "Alright," she said coolly.

As soon as the little blond left the room, the four adults crept into Vivio's room and closed the door behind them. Her room was relatively simple: featuring a simple bed and desk with various pictures and trophies strewn along her dresser. Erio took a seat on the floor beside Caro while Einhart perched herself on the chair beside the desk. Vivio on the other hand sat herself on her bed.

Silence fell upon them.

"So, what's up Vivio?" asked Erio.

Vivio crossed her arms. "Well, you see, something weird's going on. Mama said that there's a new troublemaker on the block and that he's causing a lot of trouble. I think she's discussing the details about him today with Fate-mama and the others."

Caro raised an eyebrow. "What's so bad about that? We used to talk about that stuff at meetings all the time when we were in Riot Force 6."

Einhart's countenance fell. "But did she ever walk out or come in with a tense composure? Both Nanoha and Fate have been acting strangely all morning. They said they'll be back after they discuss what to do about the situation. To be exact, they've been like this since yesterday."

"Hmm." Erio crossed his arms. His right hand released itself to scratch his head. "Wow, that is pretty weird. Fate never gets tense about something like that unless it's really bad."

Caro struck a pensive pose. "Well, normally they bring home a picture of the suspect if there's one on a TSAB camera. Did you guys happen to see if they left anything on the table today?"

Vivio placed her finger on her lips. "No. Mama never leaves important stuff like that out normally. But you know what she did come home with a single data disk yesterday though. It's been on the table ever since she came home last night. I wanted to look at it but Fate-mama would always direct me elsewhere."

Erio tensed. _"Something's not right about this. Nanoha wouldn't just leave a data disk laying around on the table. Odds are she wanted Caro and I to take a look at it,"_ thought the red-haired lancer. _"Still, Vivio works for the bureau. Why would they try so hard to keep Vivio from seeing a regular ol' TSAB criminal data disk? To make matters even more mysterious, they're behaving strangely. I wonder if it's got anything to do with that project from a few years ago." _ Speaking to Caro on a private line, Erio asked, _"Hey, Caro, remember the incident that occurred before Alicia was born? Project Photon?"_

Caro nodded, noting that Vivio and Einhart obviously couldn't hear him._ "Yeah, I do. Why? It was a terrible disaster and many children died during various stages of the experiment."_ Suddenly, the pinkette's eyes widened with realization. _"Hey wait a sec, wasn't Alicia-"_

_"Don't be so obvious that you're serious. You'll make the girls suspicious._ _Anyway, I have a feeling whoever this is, is probably another survivor of the project. There were thirteen of them and Alicia's the last one they ever came out with, so it could easily be one of the other twelve."_

Rising from her seat, Caro said, "Hey, Vivio, Einhart; I want you to come with Erio and me. I wanna go and look at the disk."

Erio's face quickly changed to one of panic. _"Are you crazy?"_ he yelled telepathically. _"What if it is a survivor? Fate wouldn't even let us look at the other Photon files before, remember? We could be looking at really classified stuff! We could get in huge trouble if we're caught!"_

_"Don't you wanna know why Fate's acting so strangely?" _asked Caro telepathically._ "It must be something terrible for it to be causing both Nanoha and Fate to behave this way. If we can help them, I want to do my best to do so."_

There was silence.

Erio said nothing as he finally made his way to the door. Looking at Cario, he finally replied,_ "Alright. Let's do this then." _The red-haired lancer motioned to the still sitting girls. "We're gonna go take a look at that disk," he whispered. "You guys in or out?"

Nodding to each other and then to Erio, both Vivio and Einhart rose from their seats and replied, "We're in."

"Alright, let's go then," said Erio with a deep sigh.

Without a moment to lose, Vivio and Einhart followed Erio and Caro out of Vivio's room and into the living room. To their surprise, Alicia was nowhere in sight. Her video games were playing full blast along with the little blond's random cheers whenever something good would happen.

Carefully surveying his surroundings, Erio eventually found a data disk labeled Photon-XIII placed right out in plain sight on the dining table. It was labeled with the TSAB seal. It was exactly what they were looking for. Picking it up, he summoned Strada and slipped the small disk into a small slot. "Gather around the table," commanded Erio. "I'm gonna have Strada play the data back to us."

Vivio, Einhart, and Caro carefully crowded around the dining table as Erio laid Strada flat on its pole. Soon after that, a hologram popped up featuring several walls of text. Unlike most files of this nature, there was not a word of recorded sound on this file.

_"A soundless track? They really wanted to make sure this stuff wasn't leaked,"_ noted Caro.

_"It would appear that way,"_ replied Erio.

Vivio quietly read the data to the group.

[Photon XIII | Eyes: Blue | Hair: Auburn | Barrier jacket: Black with some blue markings | Divider: Replica Divider-VB996 | Magic System: Eclipse & Mid-Childan]

[Mana Conversion Affinity: None | Mana Color: Silver & Red]

[Details: This particular subject was incredibly successful in terms of containing his own power; however, he seems to suffer extreme pain when using either his magic or his abilities as an Eclipse Driver.]

Suddenly, the playback stopped.

"Hey, what gives?" complained Vivio.

Caro and Erio blinked.

Vivio read the notice presented to them aloud. [Please present a TSAB ID to view the final piece of information.]

The four teens looked at each other, hesitation evident in the everyone's eyes. Who would be the one to access the data? Eventually, Erio pulled out his own card and displayed it before the holographic screen. After a short scan, the computer presented yet another data screen.

[TSAB ID confirmed: Erio Mondial. This information must be kept secret if anything please attempt to read this by yourself if possible.]

The group ignored the message.

"Why would it want you to look at it alone?" asked Vivio curiously.

Erio crossed his arms. "I'm actually asking myself the same question."

Finally, the last piece appeared. They all gasped. This one came with a picture of a boy with wild auburn hair and deep blue eyes, eerily familiar blue eyes.

Vivio was the first to take a step back. "N-No way," the sankt kaiser shook her head. "I-It has to be some kind of joke!"

Einhart shook her head and pointed at the data screen. "I'm afraid it's true."

[Registered Alias: Saber Gremory | Birth Name: Takamachi Yuusei | Known Parent: Takamachi Nanoha | Unique Trait: Zero Gene]

[Survivor #XIII of Project Photon]

[Currently wanted by the TSAB for attempted time-space disruption. His termination has been ordered upon capture. He is wanted alive or dead.]

Erio felt a chill slither up his spine. "Th-This is…"

Einhart seemed almost too appalled to speak. Finally, she turned to the now completely pallid Vivio. "You didn't know a thing about this did you?" she asked quietly.

Fighting the urge to voice her confusion and frustration, Vivio shook her head. She could only stare blankly at the sudden reality before her. "I have a little brother," muttered the golden-haired bruiser. "And they want him dead."

The minty-haired bruiser sauntered to Vivio's side and patted her back, careful not to say anything. In the mean time Erio shut off the disk and placed it exactly where it had been on the table, even going as far as to place it in the same position. The air was tense in the room and no one spoke for several minutes.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Caro asked, "S-So… What're we gonna do?"

The red-haired lancer shook his head. "I," he paused, "I really don't really know myself. There's a lot about this that's just bugging me. I thought we took care of the Eclipse during the Eclipse Incident!"

"They never got rid of all of the dividers," explained Einhart. "Fate mentioned it to me once while we were on a job together. It's possible for that child to have come into contact with a replica divider if the person who has him has access to the collected eclipse artifacts. The _real _mystery is if he's infected with the primal virus or not."

"Impossible," countered Caro. "Hades is behind bars and Thoma wouldn't purposefully infect someone with the primal strand of the eclipse virus. He has to be a secondary."

"Doubt it," replied Erio. "If they wanted to recreate the zero effect, they would need a primal infection, not a secondary or a tertiary. I don't know how they did it, but they exposed that kid to a strosek."

Vivio shook her head, not wanting to believe what she had just bore witness to. "Is it possible for us to detain him for questioning?"

Caro shook her head. "We could, but it says that they want him terminated. This means that even if we manage to hide him here for a few days after detaining him and getting answers, if someone from the higher ups finds him, they'll probably kill him." Seeing the astonishment on Vivio's and Einhart's faces, Caro added, "Of course Nanoha and Fate would never do something like that, but it's just too dangerous."

"So, what's the plan then?" asked Einhart. "We are not even privy to this child's whereabouts. It's not like we can just walk up to him and ask him about this either. He might not even know what we're talking about."

"Hmm, true," replied Erio whilst nodding his head.

Suddenly the door creaked open. "We're home!" Echoed through the house as Nanoha and Fate made their way into the living room to find Erio, Caro, Vivio, and Einhart; who were standing around the table mere moments ago, relaxing as they raided the fridge.

Einhart and Vivio looked up from their soda cans. "Welcome back," the two said in unison.

"Where's Alicia?" asked Fate.

Erio chuckled. "Ah, Alicia decided to go play some games for awhile. She grew bored of listening to us talk."

Walking up to Fate, Erio and Caro embraced her gently as they said, "It's good to see you again, Fate."

Fate smiled. "It's wonderful to see you two as well."

Nanoha smiled as she revealed a box wrapped in blue and white and another in black and red. "Well, the party will be starting soon so get ready everyone. Try not to eat too much. Fate made tart."

"Okay!" replied the four young adults.

With that, the two aces made their way up the stairs and out of sight.

As soon as they were out of earshot, the four young adults simultaneous went, "Phew."

_"So, what's the plan?"_ asked Vivio.

Erio crossed his arms smiling. "For now, we enjoy the party, but after this," his features fell, leaving an almost curious shine in his now serious eyes. "We need to have a talk with Fate and Nanoha about this tonight."

* * *

_**A few hours later...**_

* * *

The party had gone just like any other of Alicia's birthday parties: the Yagami family, along with Miura came to visit; Lindy, Arf, Chrono, Amy, and Alicia's cousins arrived with Yuuno. A few of Vivio's friends showed up shortly afterward. About three minutes later, Subaru and Teana appeared. Not too long after that, the cake came out. Everything seemed completely normal with the exception of an unusually quiet Nanoha, and a slightly stoic Fate. They cheered up whenever someone came to talk to them but those closest to them knew something was awry.

Hayate took the initiative on confronting them about an hour after the cake was served. "Hey, I just wanted to say that I'm-"

Nanoha stopped her. "It's fine. Did you happen to look at the new order for_ certain_ project survivors?" Nanoha stressed the word certain, and Fate did not look in the slightest bit pleased.

The commander nodded. "I'm actually fighting with them to change that, but there are apparently certain members of the higher ups who refuse to budge on the matter."

Fate's features darkened. "It's not just him you know. I heard that I, II, and III were ordered for termination as well. I'm surprised you don't seem bothered yourself, Hayate."

Hayate raised an eyebrow. "Of course I'm upset, but what exactly is the problem, Fate?"

The blond swordswoman sighed deeply. "They also ordered for X's termination."

An almost depressed frown worked its way onto Hayate's face. "I saw that." The brunette's voice suddenly grew silent.

Seeing the pain on Hayate's face, Fate said, "Look, Hayate, I'm sorry. I think there's just too much going on with this case."

Nanoha crossed her arms. "We're not getting anywhere arguing with each other. I suggest that we talk it over tonight after Alicia opens her presents and goes to bed tonight. The disk is in my room after al-" Nanoha paused in panic. She looked to find the disk detailing Yuusei exactly where she had left it on the table. "Crap."

Fate smiled nervously. "Don't worry, I don't think Vivio and Einhart would have-"

"They're with the TSAB now, remember? They could have opened the files. Erio and Caro are here as well," interjected Nanoha.

Hayate looked around to find Erio observing them from afar and Vivio making poor attempts to eavesdrop on their conversation with apparently no success judging by the look of struggle on her face. "I would," she paused, "Say they saw it."

Sighing, Fate suggested, "How about we open the presents now? We can talk after the presents. Everyone usually goes home after that anyway. Chrono and Lindy know already, but, Hayate; I think the knights have every right to know about this too. Signum and Vita have already seen one of them, so there's no point in hiding it any longer."

"Yeah, let's do that," replied Hayate. "Mind if we crash here? It sounds like this might be a long one."

Nanoha smiled, her radiance returning. "Sure!" Walking out into the crowd, she waved her hands towards the couch. "Hey guys! It's time for Alicia to open presents!"

"Alright!" yelled Alicia loudly. Dashing for her spot on the floor next to the presents, the little blond had somehow managed to slide between Signum's legs.

The Knight of the Sword smiled nervously. "She may look like you Testarossa, but she's far more," she paused, "energetic."

Fate smiled nervously, a sheepish laugh being her only reply.

Moments later, everyone was seated and Alicia tore into the first box. It had come from the Yagami family specifically. Her eyes almost glowed. "Wah! Is this a ground forces uniform?"

Hayate smiled. Poor Alicia, she didn't realize that all the commander wanted was for someone new to try on her costumes. The little blond was simply all too willing to play along. "I'm glad you like it. I can't wait to see you try out the new costu- I mean, uniform."

"Thank you guys!" cheered Alicia. While she easily could have listed the entire clan, she felt it best to thank them collectively.

Signum smiled almost pitifully. _"She has no idea as to what evil she has just unleashed upon herself,"_ thought the purple-haired knight sympathetically.

Vita snickered. _"Ah well. At least you'll be off the hook for a while! Right, Signum?"_

_"Hmm. You have a point, Vita,"_ replied Signum with excitement evident in her tone of voice.

As Signum began to daydream of her short vacation from her beloved master's hobby, Alicia began to tear into her new present. This one was from Miura. Again she found fascination in the item, but this time, curiosity overtook her rather than joy._ "Hey, these are leg guards! Hmm, two presents that are parts to an armor… No way!"_ Eyeing the present from Fate and Nanoha to herself, Alicia's eyes gleamed with hope. "Thanks, Miura!"

Miura giggled. "You're welcome, Alicia!"

The little girl wasted no time in moving onto the gift from Corona and Rio. It was a rectangular box with something clanging around inside. Alicia raised an eyebrow. _"This seems a tad too coordinated."_ Opening the next box, she found a guard plate for her core, very similar to the one Vivio wears in her adult mode. _"I was right!"_ she mentally yelled. _"Now all we need is the jacket really and I'd be able to store this in a device for later. Maybe I'll use these for ideas for a barrier jacket!"_ Not wanting to waste time, Alicia moved on to her next present. This one was from Grandma Lindy and Arf. Opening it, she beamed. The present was normal, but it was one of the more childish things on her wish list: a PlayStation Vita.

Vita felt her palm reach her face as she stared at the black game console. _"Of course it'd have to be **that** game console," _thought the red-headed knight sullenly.

"Yay! Thank you Grandma Lindy and Aunty Arf!" cried Alicia.

Lindy smiled and gave the little girl a pat on her head. "You're welcome, dear."

Arf beamed. "You're welcome kid! Knock yourself out!"

Alicia giggled, hugging the large wolf girl. An "Awwwww" surged through the room as a horde of cameras swarmed in on the originally tender moment. Various lights flashed away at the pair, leaving Alicia dizzy and Arf completely blinded for a full minute.

Chrono stepped forward to ruffle his niece's hair. "Happy birthday, kiddo."

The little blond mage nodded, gratefully accepting the gift he held in his hands. Tearing into it she found yet another item on the wish list: an iPod. Alicia thought for a second that she saw her mother's palm meet her face.

Vivio chuckled. It had taken her quite some time to acquire an iPod, but after using her cutesy side to appeal to Fate's motherly instincts, she had easily gotten one of respectable gig count. It was a shame that Nanoha had found out and "punished" Fate for it the following evening.

Indeed, Fate had very vivid memories of that night. It had been a long time since Nanoha had ever been annoyed with her like that. _"Chrono probably got that for her as a gag. Stupid Brother."_

_"It's your fault for being tricked by a little girl,"_ teased Chrono.

Fate almost gasped at the sudden message, looking over to a smirking Chrono, a giggling Nanoha, and a grinning Vivio; who quickly revealed the small item in question and placed it back into her pocket. As usual, Fate blushed a deep red and whined aloud.

Completely ignoring the scene before her, Alicia had gone on to accepting the next box, this time from Yuuno. Her curiosity got the better of her for a moment. Yuuno had hinted that she would obtain a device this year or that her chances of it were high. With that in mind, she thought to herself, _"Maybe Yuuno got me something having to do with device handling."_ Opening the box, she couldn't have been more wrong. Her shock was replaced by awe as she pulled out a small white jewelry box with green outlining.

The librarian smiled. "Go on and open it. It won't bite."

Alicia did as she was told, opening the box to find a small locket inside shaped like Bardiche but perhaps a tad larger than him. Opening the locket she found a small picture of the entire group at their picnic a few months ago. Shari had volunteered to take the picture for them. The only addition to the group was Nanoha's family, who had sat right beside Nanoha, their smiles warm and glowing in the summer sun. The little girl gave Yuuno a hug. "Thank you, Yuuno. I really love it. I'll take real good care of it. I promise."

"You're welcome Alicia-chan." Again, flashes blurred the room, blinding the ferret changeling and the young blonde.

The blond mage could barely contain her excitement. Only two presents remained. She had decided to open the one from Subaru and Teana, but this one was exactly what she had been anticipating: the main jacket to a barrier jacket. This one was actually styled very similar to Hayate's barrier jacket. However, the colors were exactly like that of Fate's original barrier jacket as a child. It wasn't too bulky, but it had more protection than even her mother's at that age.

Subaru gave her a thumbs up. "We wanted to make sure you stayed safe while you fought! This oughta keep you intact just as well as Commander Yagami's barrier jacket does," she exclaimed in a cheery voice.

Teana smiled. "This jacket's made for bulk and speed. It will let you go as fast as your mom but you'll be able to take maybe one more hit than she can in sonic form. Just be remember to be careful. It's still a pretty fragile jacket. Nanoha's Divine Buster and Signum's Purple Lightning Flash can easily tear this thing open."

"Un! Thank you!" replied an ecstatic Alicia. Hugging the two, she quickly slid the jacket on and took a picture between the two girls. Subaru held Teana around the waist as the picture was taken, causing the gunslinger to blush bright red as she tried to hold in her embarrassment.

After the moment had settled, the final present sat before Alicia. This one was from her mothers. She had waited for this all day. The little mage was so excited that she could barely breathe as she slowly, almost tensely, removed the wrapping paper from the package. It revealed a steel-colored canister. She was prompted to identify herself.

[Please place your dominant hand's thumb onto the blue screen to identify yourself.]

Alicia did as she was told. The machine began to read off a few random facts.

[User: Alicia Takamachi-Harlaown. | Magic System: Mid-Childa. | Confirm?]

Alicia nodded. "Yes!"

[Affirmative, releasing device, serial XGS-001: Caliburn to registered user Alicia Takamachi-Harlaown.] The canister's lid popped open, the lid slowly unscrewing as steam filled the room. Slowly as the smoke cleared, Alicia stood at the center of the room holding a small, navy blue and black sword pendant.

The little mage stared at the small pendent in awe. "Th-This is?..."

Fate nodded. "Your own device. Shari and the crew made this special for you. Nanoha and I requested it for you."

Nanoha giggled gleefully. "Vivio and Einhart helped with the design while Erio and Caro chose the colors. You could say it's a little something from all six of us."

Alicia was far too pleased to express herself with words. She merely jumped up and down while frantically hugging her mother. "Thank you!"

Fate embraced her daughter and smiled. "You're welcome, Alicia." Seeing that the fun was over, all of the guests with the exception of Arf, Chrono, Lindy, the Yagami family, and Yuuno had left.

* * *

An hour later, after telepathically explaining the situation to Chrono, Hayate let out a heavy sigh. "We'll be back down soon, but I want you guys to watch Alicia for us. It may be awhile." Looking towards Vivio, Einhart, Erio, and Caro; she added, "I don't think they are too pleased about not being informed about all of this."

Chrono crossed his arms. "To be honest, I'd be kind of mad too," he answered softly. "Look, we'll watch her for you guys. Just go up and let them in on everything."

Looking to her knights for a brief second, Hayate quickly saluted Chrono. "Very well, sir."

Chrono laughed. "Very well."

With that; the four young adults, Nanoha, Fate, and the Yagami family made their way up the stairs and into Nanoha and Fate's bedroom. Not much had changed since they had first brought Vivio home except maybe the extra bed they had brought in during Alicia's terrible twos. There were several chairs and a lot of space on the bed. Everyone sort of took a spot at random and gathered around Hayate, who had taken the center of the room with a chair of her own.

"Are we all here?" asked the commander.

Everyone nodded.

Once more, Hayate let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, for those who aren't entirely aware, we are here today to discuss a potentially dangerous matter. Now, who here is familiar with Project Photon?"

Most hands were raised with the exception of the knights.

"Well then, the basics of the project were simple: to utilize ideas from Project Fate in order to create genetically engineered soldiers for combat in the TSAB. Some of which were created with the DNA of some of the TSAB's greatest mages including Fate T. Harlaown, Takamachi Nanoha, and myself: Yagami Hayate; however, there was a lot of corruption among the staff members and there were even rumors of the eclipse virus being used on various test subjects. Eventually, the project was forced to a close." For a moment, Hayate thought Vita was going to burst out, but she seemed too shocked to speak.

Signum crossed her arms. "So someone in the TSAB was using Project Fate to not only clone but actually make children with certain powers or abilities?"

Hayate nodded. "Yes, that's correct."

Erio's face twisted, his features revealing an unusual glint of anger. "So they're making kids like me, but just for the sole purpose of using them as war machines?"

Fate did not seem any more amused than Erio, her features slightly darkening at the mention of Project Fate.

Hayate nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. Thankfully, as I mentioned before, the project was deemed far too unethical and was eventually shut down."

The Knight of the Sword huffed. "Unethical indeed."

"That's not all," said Hayate, "While it was initially shut down after the first two successful births, the project was put back on rails two months later. Nanoha, Fate, and myself were first requested to donate blood at the local blood bank for what we were told was a blood drive hosted by the TSAB. We couldn't possibly have been anymore wrong."

The air in the room stiffened. Vivio looked around, she was still somewhat lost. "What? What happened, Mama?" She looked towards Nanoha for answers.

Nanoha only looked away, seeming almost too ashamed to answer.

"Then, they asked from something else: three egg cells from each of us for what they claimed was some form of new cell research using egg cells. It was never elaborated on as to what they would be used for, but at that moment, we knew something was wrong," answered Hayate.

Einhart raised an almost disturbed eyebrow, Erio's face went from angered to confused, while Shamal seemed to be piecing everything together.

"So they?" asked Shamal.

"That's right," answered Hayate. "From those three cells from each of us, one egg cell each had been converted into sperm through chromosomal-cell-change, a new kind of science Mid-Childa's been working on to allow for same-sex couples to have children. Obviously, since it's done through machine, it's not exactly perfect. A week later, we had found out that one of Fate's eggs had been fertilized by one of Nanoha's, well, 'sperm.'"

At last, realization crept its way into Erio's eyes. "So, what you're trying to tell us is-"

"Seems like you've got it, Erio. Fate and Nanoha do have a biological daughter."

No one said a word. There was silence for a brief moment.

"Hayate, why did you not use Alicia's name when you said that just now?" asked Einhart quietly.

Everyone looked from Einhart to Hayate, equally as curious. "Well, the best way I can answer that is because that particular child is not Alicia."

Vita actually gasped, Signum's eyes widened somewhat, Erio seemed to be putting two-and-two together, while Caro raised her hand to ask a question.

"W-Wait a second Commander Yagami!" cried Caro. "If Alicia's not their daughter, then who is-"

"She is Fate's daughter, but she is not their daughter," answered Hayate quickly.

Caro ceased her questioning.

Silence fell over the room as Hayate searched within herself to find a gentle way to explain the coming pieces of information. "That first child, the first success using two above AAA rank mage's DNA to create a child with special talents, was a success. The child was placed within Fate's womb a day after we had received that call. As you all can guess, it was born a healthy young girl who could easily pass for Alicia's twin, but even from a young age, she bore the Takamachi smile. She also had Nanoha's nose if I remember correctly. Her name was Ivory, Ivory Takamachi-Harlaown. Or according to the project: Photon IV."

Nanoha said nothing, opting to stare off into space instead.

Caro gripped the edge of her dress. _"So that's what happened," _she thought to herself quietly.

Vivio's confusion from earlier this morning skyrocketed with this new piece of information. "Hey, Mama, where did Ivory go then?"

No answer.

"Mama?"

Nanoha finally spoke, her voice so grim it gave even Signum chills. "They… They took her away, Vivio."

No one said a word. It was rare to hear the white devil sound so lost.

It was Signum's turn to raise a question. "Testarossa, I hate to ask this of you, but I want to know, what in the world happened to that child?"

Fate looked down toward her shoes. "That's just it Signum, we don't know. We chased them through Mid-Childa and even Vaizen. Hayate helped us, but they somehow managed to escape. We think they had an escape ship waiting for them somewhere on the outskirts of town. They picked a great time too. You and Vita were mobilized with the forwards that day, remember? I was also recovering from giving birth so I," the blond swordswoman paused. "I couldn't do anything." Fate's voice cracked just slightly on her last four words.

Erio clenched a fist. "Those bastards. If I find out who these guys are, they're toast!" Lightning began to surge from the red-haired lancer's body, but he quickly received a chastising glance from Signum.

"Erio, you'd do well to calm down," advised Signum.

"But!"

"No buts! This is a delicate matter. Letting your emotions grasp control won't do you any good right now." The Knight of the Sword's words were calm, but Erio could hear the resentment that hid within them. The red-haired lancer looked away. He knew Signum was right, but to see two people who meant so much to him in so much pain churned something deep inside of him. Whatever it was, he didn't like it.

Vivio said nothing, another piece of the puzzle slowly coming together in her head. _"It all makes sense now,"_ she thought to herself. _"There was that one time Fate-mama took a year-long trip to another world. Nanoha-mama visited her at least once every month. So that's what was going on."_ The golden-haired bruiser was at a loss for words. She wanted to ask her mothers why. She wanted to know why no one told her. She wanted to know why she wasn't there to protect her baby sister. Suddenly, a thought rang out in her mind. _"Wait, but then Mama did the same exact thing a year later! So then-"_

Hayate took the silence as the signal to go on. "A few months later, they employed Nanoha for the job. She accepted with the same results, but this time, the baby was confiscated by the TSAB after a week for reasons they refused to disclose."

Signum cringed. "How cowardly."

Vita scowled. "What the hell does that mean?" she yelled. "They can't just-"

"Because we never had substantial evidence to prove anything, the TSAB's case won out. The child, known to us then as Yuusei Takamachi, was then conveniently taken to a local doctor for research purposes. We never saw him again."

Erio shivered. He remembered those dark days in the research facility. They were dark days, terribly dark days. He didn't want anyone to have to go through that; however, everything was beginning to make sense now._ "So then after Ivory and Yuusei, they tried again."_

"After the first two incidents, Fate was called up again, this time having just Fate as the mother. They wanted to try the same experiment from before, but Nanoha at the time was," looking sympathetically towards her dear friend, Hayate continued, "in no condition to bear such stress. She had suffered more than enough. Fate however was willing to try one last time. This time however, we were ready for them." Indeed, Captain Yagami remembered that day so well it was almost painful. "We had Yuuno seal the entire hospital with a barrier. Meanwhile, we had Einhart and Vivio waiting outside. If you remember, Signum, that was the day I had you stationed outside of the hospital. Vita, if you remember, we were with Nanoha and Fate at the time."

Vita nodded with a loud snort. "Yeah, I remember. I had no idea that Fate could scream so loud. It was incredible!"

Fate flushed at the remark.

Hayate merely shook her head with a giggle. "Anyway, the child born from that experiment was the Alicia that we all know and love today. Due to all of the political and legal processes that were apparently involved with these children, I had Captain Chrono and former Captain Lindy set things up prior to the birth; as a result, the baby was protected and we still have custody of Alicia to this day."

Erio crossed his arms. "What still confuses me is how they swindled Yuusei legally. I mean, Vita's right. Can they seriously do that?"

"It was all a lie," answered Hayate with a cold countenance. "It was entirely under a fake medical record that claimed he had certain medical needs that were located only in a certain hospital and that his mothers were non-compliant in allowing him entry into that hospital. They claimed that since Yuusei was not yet competent, they as his health care providers had more authority and say over his family, who supposedly didn't have his best interests in mind."

Einhart frowned. "That's just so cruel."

Nanoha and Fate said nothing. The room was actually dead quiet. Finally, a hand was raised. Surprisingly, it was Zafira's hand.

"Go ahead Zafira," answered Hayate.

Zafira nodded. "Mistress, you've mentioned a great deal of important information to us but you also mentioned that you had to give cells and blood too correct? If so, then why were you never called in? I'm sure they would easily have wanted to clone someone of your rank."

Signum nodded. "It makes sense."

Vita growled. "If they laid their dirty hands on Hayate, I'll clobber 'em!"

Shamal sighed. "As much as we'd all _love_ for you to do that Vita we'd probably get in trouble."

Vita turned to Shamal. "Huh? What's your problem? Look at what they're doing! They've torn an entire family apart and for what? A tricked out science experiment? They're kids! Not toys!"

Signum huffed. "That's correct, but these ideas were obviously passed by higher ups. Meaning, someone in the higher ranks is letting all of this happen on purpose and is covering his tracks very, very well. If it's someone of higher standing than we can argue with, we could easily be detained for opposing him or her and then what?"

Vita let out another growl but slowly sank in her chair, sighing in defeat. "Fine, I get it."

Hayate finally readied herself to speak. "You're right, Zafira, I was called in and that was that ten month vacation I went on nine years ago, remember? I too, delivered. I named my little girl Sora, but she, just like Yuusei was taken away under the same pretense. Due to my status among many higher ups, it was hard for me to even argue. In the end, I lost and Sora was taken from me." Hayate did a better job of holding up, but no one could deny the sheer amount of sorrow leaking from her eyes.

The room was quiet. Everything seemed to pause for eons. It seemed as if the story was finally over.

Nanoha chuckled, almost darkly. "So, now you all know."

Signum nodded. "I," she paused, "am very sorry to all three of you for what has transpired."

The room shifted back to silence. No one knew what to say.

Vivio raised her fists, bringing them together as her mana built around her. "Well I'm not sitting here and doing nothing. I'm gonna go get them back!"

Einhart nodded, her gauntlets at the ready. "I second this notion. What has transpired is appalling and must be stopped."

Hayate smiled. "I admire your courage, but we can't take this so lightly Vivio. Einhart. We don't even know where to find them. It would take some luck to randomly run into them long enough for-"

*BOOM!*

The room shook. It felt like a dimensional tremor. Everyone in the room immediately stood from their seats.

"Wh-What the heck was that?" yelled Caro.

Erio readied Strada. "Sounds to me like we won't have to wait too long for that chance after all."

Another tremor shook the room, knocking some of the group off of their feet.

Chrono soon burst into the room with Arf and Lindy. Alicia quietly trailed behind them. "Is everyone alright?" yelled the raven-haired mage.

"Yeah," replied everyone else.

Alicia looked up to the taller adults. "What's happening?"

"A dimensional tremor! Alicia, we need you to go to your room for now! We'll be home in about an hour!" answered Fate.

Alicia gaped. "What?" she yelled. "Aw man! I was going to show you my barrier jacket! I just finished everything!"

Fate quickly gave her daughter a hug. "And we'll be right back to see it. Please be a good girl, okay?"

Reluctantly, Alicia nodded. "Fine."

With that settled, most of the group set out for the mission, with Chrono leading Alicia to her room. Little did the older mage know, Alicia had a plan…

* * *

In the streets of central Mid-Childa, crimson flames were sprouting up from beneath the ground at astonishing rates. At the center of it all was the young boy with blue eyes and wild auburn hair. Floating above him was a young grey-haired man wielding a black scythe. "Can I leave the rest to you, Yuusei? It seems that I will be busy helping Pandora entertain the TSAB mages."

Yuusei nodded. "Yeah. Go right ahead, Prometheus."

Prometheus laughed aloud. "Oh come on, kid! You gotta lighten up a little! Let yourself go! Take any frustration you have out on the city! You have a whole hour to do so!"

Yuusei said nothing, wincing as the dying screams of a woman caught in the flames reached his ears.

Prometheus scowled. "You're a real boring brat, you know that? It's no wonder your mother left y-" Prometheus halted his insults when the blade of Yuusei's divider was held at his neck.

"Not. Another. Word," threatened Yuusei.

Prometheus grinned. "That's more I like it. See you around, kid!" As he performed Dimensional Transfer, the grey-haired boy yelled, "Try not to get cornered this time! Pandora won't be able to bail you out. We'll be busy with our own fight!"

Yuusei looked towards the flames. "That's completely fine with me." A faint memory of a photograph flashed across the auburn-haired boy's mind: the vaguely familiar smile of a beautiful woman with flowing auburn hair and deep blue eyes. Her warmth was greater than the sun. Beside her was a taller woman with long blonde hair with ruby red eyes. Even from that image she gave him the image of gentle soul. Pushing it back to the corners of his mind, Yuusei muttered, "It's not like I have anyone to go home to anyway." His divider lit aflame as he made his way towards a random building, hoping to stir more fire in order to attract the bureau.

* * *

In the confines of her room, Alicia sat alone. Chrono had gone to make a phone call outside, but this is just what she had hoped for. Opening her window, she slowly floated down towards the grass, quickly ran several blocks down the street, and hid in a bush. Looking at Caliburn, she asked, "You ready for this?"

[Yes ma'am!] answered Caliburn.

Alicia nodded. "Let's go, Caliburn! Seeeet UP!" A glowing, gold light engulfed her as she changed into her barrier jacket. Moments later she emerged, Caliburn turning out to be what looked like a real mass weapon long sword. When one looked at the hilt however, a revolver had been placed to utilize the cartridge system as well as holes for steam on the actual blade, also allowing for cooling for the plasma reactors stored beneath the blade's exterior. "Heard you were built from Ancient-Belkan Orichalcom. Let's put you to the test!"

[Ma'am!] replied Caliburn. With that, the two were on their way toward the scene.

Moments later, Chrono opened Alicia's door, asking if she wanted a snack. He paled when he noted her absence as a single thought crossed his mind: _"Fate's gonna kill me."_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Returning readers may have noticed by now, but the recent chapters are just two chapters from the original glued together with a few edits thrown in. This pattern will play out up until we basically get to where I left off on the previous story, perhaps with a bridging chapter between the original Chapter 9 and 10. That aside, I hope you enjoyed the latest installment of Magical War Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha: Photon.

KaiserPhotos, signing off!


	3. The Gears of Destiny

**[Record 03: The Gears of Destiny]**

The closer Alicia got to the disaster zone, the more chaotic the situation seemed to be. Buildings were aflame and several civilians were running through the streets in a panic. The little mage could hear explosions sounding off one after another in the distance. The fire around her raged on without mercy, scorching anyone who had failed to escape the attack in time. Alicia paled as she turned to her left: a hand caught beneath a pile of burning rubble. _"This is scary," _she thought. _"I want to go home!" _

Caliburn ripped Alicia from her thoughts. [Ma'am,] it said, [A battle is unfolding above us and may approach us. Will we participate? There are four combatants on the TSAB side and two combatants on the enemy side.]

Alicia shook her head. "No way. If Mom finds me now, I'll be grounded for life!"

[Very well,] answered the device. [New report,] announced Caliburn. [Another enemy life sign has been detected just fifteen meters ahead of your current location. Shall we confront them?]

"Hmm." The little mage thought about it. "Is there anyone who can take care of 'em nearby?"

[Confirmed. Lady Vivio and lady Einhart will arrive on the scene in about forty five minutes. The damage the attacker will have caused by then however will be substantial.]

"You're not giving me much choice, are you?" asked Alicia.

[Courage is an important asset,] answered Caliburn.

_"Well, I guess it wouldn't be that bad,"_ thought Alicia. Her mother was younger than her when she was first partaking in practical battle. On top of that, she had at least half an hour before her sister made it to the scene and in the middle of battle there shouldn't be a way for anyone to find out she's here. Looking down at the device in her hands, a grin slithered its way onto Alicia's face. _"And I'm dying to see just how much oomph this thing's got!" _At last, her mind was made up. "Alright then, let's go Caliburn!"

[Yes Ma'am!]

* * *

Vita dodged her opponent with little difficulty as she slammed a magic bullet with her hammer. The force of the impact sent the energy bullet right back to Prometheus, who dodged the blast with minimal effort. The red-headed knight growled. _"His strength is below average, but his stamina's pretty good. This is going to be a pain in the ass if things stay this way!"_

Prometheus grinned smugly. "What's wrong? I thought you said you were gonna 'clobber me!'"

"And I plan to do just that," yelled Vita. "Graf Eisen!"

[Gigantform!] yelled Graf Eisen.

Vita's hammer extended and then enlarged in a flash of red before the red-headed knight angrily slammed her hammer down on Prometheus. Seeing him cringe from beneath her hammer, Vita grinned. _"Just a little more," _she thought. "Graf Eisen!"

[Explosion!]

Several cartridges burst forth from the revolver on Vita's device, causing the weight against Prometheus's body to amplify substantially. Vita grinned with satisfaction as she watched the grey-haired boy squirm. "What's the matter, brat? Is this too much for ya?"

"D-Damn you," snarled Prometheus. _"It's no good," _thought the grey-haired boy. _"There's a crack in my barrier and that blasted hammer isn't making things better for me!" _ Realizing that he was in over his head, Prometheus decided that it was finally time to call for back up. "Pandora," he yelled, "I need a little help over here!"

Pandora zoomed past him with Fate trailing behind her. Bardiche met with the green-haired witch's staff. "I'm sorry Prometheus, but I'm having enough trouble fending for myself!"

_CRACK!_

Prometheus gazed up in alarm as his barrier began to shatter. "Curses!" The grey-haired boy quickly did a barrel roll in mid-air, causing Vita's hammer to just barely miss colliding with his body. Grinning, the enemy mage immediately made for the sky. _"Pandora,"_ he said over telepathy, _"Get ready to go viral."_

"Oh no you don't," yelled Vita. Just before the red-headed knight could approach him, Prometheus set up yet another barrier, effectively stopping Vita dead in her tracks. Raising a fist toward the clouds he hid in, she screamed, "Coward!"

Signum, Zafira, and Shamal seemed to be in a pickle of their own. As Signum fought off mysterious, black flame creatures in the sky, Zafira was taking care of similar creatures on the ground while Shamal was in the middle of creating a shield to cover Zafira's and Signum's backs. At the same time, Erio was riding Fried with Caro as he used Sonic Move to assist Signum in fighting off the fire abominations that plagued the airspace. Finally there was Caro who was in the middle of maintaining a boosting spell on Erio to assist in maintaining cover fire.

Pandora smirked as she finally turned around and formed a barrier around herself.

Zooming toward it with incredible speed, Fate thought to herself, _"Why form a barrier now?" _She trained her eye on the barrier's center and carefully angled her sword to the side. _"I'll cut my way through it!" _Fate swung against the barrier with all of her might, colliding against the barrier with a loud clang. Lightning surged from Bardiche's energy blade until it suddenly disappeared, leaving her with the AEC 5th Generation Terminal blade. Astonished, the blond swordswoman immediately jumped back. "Wh-What the?"

[AMF signals detected. Eclipse-Driver-like organism confirmed,] announced Bardiche.

Fate's eyes narrowed. While continuing to hack away at the barrier, she yelled over telepathy, _"Nanoha! They're planning to use something like the eclipse! Hurry and aim for the spot where the boy went to hide! Vita, please support Nanoha!"_

Nanoha smirked. "'Kay! There's enough residue mana, I'm gonna aim for him with a Starlight Breaker."

Vita on the other hand snarled as she continued to hack away at the barrier. "Easier," she paused to swing, "said," once more she swung against the barrier to no avail, "than done!"

The white devil pointed her staff towards the sky. _"We don't have much time. I didn't breaking my AEC Armament with me, so our best course of action is to knock them down with magical damage before they can divide."_ Mana began to pool around Raising Heart. It at first appeared like several specks of pink stardust and then began to race toward the device like millions of shooting stars. As the light began to grow larger and larger, Nanoha chanted, "Starlight…"

* * *

The red emergency lights sounded all over the TSAB headquarters station. "Emergency!" was just about the only word the workers could hear at the moment. At the commanding bridge, a boy with short, brown hair and blue eyes was saluting Hayate. Next to him stood a girl dressed in very classy European styled clothing with chesnut hair, and another girl with black hair tied in a short pig tail, and amber eyes. The group was dressed in the usual TSAB training uniform.

"Thoma Avenir reporting for duty with Lily-Strosek and Isis Erget!"

"What's up, Commander?" asked Isis.

Hayate seemed visibly bothered. Her eyes were narrowed and her forehead was wrinkled with stress.

Thoma and company did not know well of the situation as they had only returned from Vaizen a few hours ago. Seeing the discomfort on the commander's face, Lily asked, _"Is something the matter?" _

"Should we have brought the Grendels with us?" asked Isis.

"No," answered Hayate quickly. "No, it's fine. I'm sorry. I just need a moment."

The Eclipse Driver cocked a curious eyebrow, but made no attempt to question Hayate's unusual behavior.

"We have a large problem right now," explained Hayate. "I need the Zero Unit to mobilize as soon as possible."

The strosek's eyes widened with surprise. "Aren't the Lightning and Star units already out?"

Hayate shook her head. "Unfortunately, the circumstances have changed. They were doing fine a moment ago, but the opposition is raising the stakes beyond what I can consider safe."

"In what way?" asked Thoma.

"They plan to react. They seem to be Eclipse Drivers."

Thoma was taken aback. Nodding his head, the Eclipse Driver asked, "How long can the other units hold out?"

"You've got ten minutes to make it to the scene," answered the commander.

"You got it," replied Thoma. "Let's go. Isis, Lily-"

"But before you go," interjected Hayate, "I wanted to ask you: how is the vaccine doing? Have things stabilized?"

"Actually, it's not that bad anymore," answered a smiling Thoma. "Lily's not contagious anymore. The two of us should be fine from here on in. The Grendels seem to be doing well too. We're all still able to use our abilities and react, but it's no longer a threat to our health." The Eclipse Driver paused to nervously scratch the back of his head. "At least, that's what the R&D group told us anyway."

"I'm glad," said Hayate. "Well then, get moving Zero Unit! Your orders are to assist the Lightning and Star units!"

The group immediately saluted her. "Yes Ma'am!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Alicia was flying through a small boulevard She had traversed several streets, but the so-called opponent her device mentioned had not been spotted yet. "How much further Caliburn?"

[Only another block. We are close,] answered Caliburn.

"Un!" With a final burst of speed, Alicia found herself in the town square. The entire area was aflame and only a single boy stood in the middle of it all. The little mage's face went from excited to terribly confused. _"He's about my age. Did he do all of this?"_ Upon taking a step toward him, the boy calmly turned around.

The auburn-haired boy immediately leveled his divider at the little mage's rib cage. His eyes were threatening and filled with hostility. "Who are you?"

Alicia tightly gripped Caliburn's handle, replying with a warm smile. "My name's Alicia, Alicia T-Harlaown. I-I'm helping the bureau capture the people who did this to the town." Looking at the boy once more, she added, "I've never seen you around this part of town. Who are you? Where are your parents?"

Yuusei raised an eyebrow and cautiously lowered his divider. "You're kind of young, aren't you? I don't think someone like you should be involved in something like this," answered the auburn-haired boy. He was carefully choosing his words. _"This kid__ may look weak, but I need to be careful. She may be leading me on."_

"How rude!" huffed Alicia. Placing a hand on her chest, she said, "_I'm_ the daughter of Fate T-Harlaown and Nanoha Takamachi. I'll be fine here." Seeing that her boast had little affect on Yuusei, the little mage asked, "Who are you?"

The auburn-haired boy's eyes narrowed. Quickly feigning surprise, he replied, "Oh, so you're _their_ daughter. That makes you pretty strong then." Carefully bringing his divider into battle position, Yuusei said, "As for my name it's Yuusei. My parents abandoned me when I was really young, so I don't really know what my last name is."

The little mage's eyes softened. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said. After a moment of thought, Alicia beamed with optimism. "Hey, why not come with me? Maybe we can find someone at the bureau to help you! People have done it before."

Yuusei tilted his head, struggling to maintain his feigned smile. _"Is this kid really a member of the bureau? They've seen my face, so she would have orders to detain me."_ Suddenly, a guilty expression slithered onto his face. _"I'm gonna feel real bad about this. She really is a nice kid."_ Narrowing his eyes, the auburn-haired boy thought to himself, _"But something she said earlier **seriously** rubbed me the wrong way." _

Alicia felt somewhat hurt that he was going to reject her offer, but she urged him on. "Was it something I said? I promise that these people can help you!" Suddenly, a surge of energy swept past her.

[Ma'am! Quick! Block with me!] cried Caliburn. Yuusei's divider collided with the sword-like device with a loud clang.

"Tch." Alicia looked up with surprise evident on her face. "N-No way!"

Not wanting to give Alicia time to gather her bearings, Yuusei leaped into the air and summoned four spheres of crimson light. "Crimson Flare!" shouted Yuusei. On command, the spheres shot forth from their spaces, racing towards Alicia.

Alicia gasped and held out Caliburn.

[Protection EX!] bellowed Caliburn. Suddenly, a large shield of whitish blue energy appeared. A golden rim framed the outside of the shield, spinning violently as the spheres of light slammed against it and burst into flames. Alicia was unharmed, but obviously taken aback by Yuusei's hostile assault.

Yuusei stared down at Alicia with amusement evident in his eyes. "Hey, you're pretty good. I didn't think that you'd be able to block that. Then again, I guess I shouldn't be praising you. That device of yours is pretty top notch. Had it not summoned up that shield for you, I would've killed you!"

Still too flabbergasted to fully grasp her situation, Alicia yelled, "W-Wait! So you're-"

"Yup," answered Yuusei, "I'm the one you're looking for."

The little blond mage gazed up at Yuusei agape.

The auburn-haired boy sighed. "Look, Alicia was it? I don't wanna hurt you if I don't have to. Why not just turn around and forget you saw me?"

"Sorry, but I can't do that if you did all of this," answered Alicia as she readied her blade._ "I don't know too much yet, but I think I should be okay if I stick to basic spells. If he gets close enough I can nail em' with my Strike Arts."_ The little mage readied her stance: one arm ready to cast, and the other ready to put her device away to deliver a quick punch.

_"Yep, definitely a rookie,"_ thought Yuusei. "You know, if you think that you're going to land a punch or a mana blast on me with that stance, you may want to rethink your strategy a little."

Alicia froze. _"How did he know?"_ she thought to herself. Surely she hadn't made it that obvious. The little blond gazed into the auburn-haired boy's eyes: they were calculating and cold. At the same time, they seemed to be watching her, judging her.

"You're still inexperienced," warned Yuusei. "I'd feel bad about hurting you."

"What was that?" growled Alicia. His warning had been taken as an insult.

Yuusei shook his head as a large sphere of light formed above him. "This is no place for some kid to play hero. Leave and maybe I'll reconsider blasting you to pieces," the auburn-haired boy threatened. His voice was completely indifferent, devoid of all emotion.

Alicia stubbornly shook her head. "If you think you can just insult me and leave, then you've got another thing coming, buddy!"

Yuusei rolled his eyes before closing them. "Suit yourself," he said calmly. The faint image of a woman with long, auburn hair ran through his mind. Her deep-blue eyes were very much like his own. By this woman stood another woman very much resembling the girl he was fighting. He hated them, more than ever now. He knew who they were. He just didn't want to remember. The auburn-haired boy shot Alicia a dark glare as the ball of crimson light above him sparked violently. _"Star..."_

Alicia was startled by the killing intent in Yuusei's eyes. She stumbled backwards as she tried to come up with a plan, but nothing came to mind. Yuusei's burning, blue eyes were silently warning her that she would not survive if he hit her with this next attack.

[Master, use maximum defense!] commanded Caliburn.

Alicia swiftly held out Caliburn, causing several layers of shields burst forth from the device. Alicia braced herself, anticipating the impact.

Yuusei's eyes darted above them. Something seemed to be drawing his focus away from the battle. At last, he changed his aim to the sky. _"Break!" _he finished, sending a blaze of crimson light up towards the sky. A loud explosion sounded from the sky, causing the auburn-haired boy to crouch into a more serious fighting stance.

Once the dust had settled, Alicia let her shields down. _"He changed his aim at the last second. Why?" _

[His target was not us.] noted Caliburn.

"Looks that way," muttered Alicia.

"Hmm." Yuusei ignored his opponent and stared toward the direction of the explosion. "Hmph, nosy woman," he muttered with a bitter-tone-of-voice. Returning his gaze to the battlefield, the auburn-haired whispered, "Accelerate," before disappearing completely.

"Wh-What the?" Alicia was caught by surprise. Looking all around her, Yuusei was nowhere to be seen.

[Behind you!] yelled Caliburn.

Unfortunately the device was too late. Yuusei appeared behind Alicia with little warning, holding his divider's blade to her neck. He paused for a moment to eye the blond mage more closely. She was the spitting image of the woman with blonde hair and red eyes. Bit by bit, his ferocity began to leave him. The auburn-haired boy turned over the blade of his divider and lowered it so that it was now facing her chest. "I'm sorry," he whispered quietly.

"Huh?" Alicia struggled to turn around but was unable to in the boy's strong grip. "Wait!" cried the little mage, "What are you talking abo-"

_SNAP!_

Alicia fell to her knees, completely unconscious.

Yuusei caught her with the blunt edge of his divider. After taking a final look at her, he gently laid her on the ground. Looking around, he noted that none of the falling debris should manage to harm Alicia. _"Prometheus,"_ he called, _"I was seen. What should I do? I've managed to escape."_

_"Gah! Damn it kid! I have my own problems right now! I've just hid in the clouds, preparing to go viral. In any case, return to base. The boss will probably have new orders for you."_

Yuusei thought about that for a moment._ "Very well then. I'll be leaving in a momen-"_

"Hold it right there!" yelled a woman's voice.

Yuusei spun on his heel to find two women with dual-colored eyes, one with golden hair and the other silvery-mint. _"They look like real bureau soldiers," _he thought to himself. Shortly after that thought, the auburn-haired boy's eyes quickly darted toward Alicia._ "Good. Someone can take her out of here now." _

Vivio stopped when she laid eyes on Yuusei. Einhart seemed equally as flabbergasted. Alicia was unconscious and Yuusei was standing there, analyzing them with calculating eyes.

A scowl formed on Yuusei's face. _"I can't fight seriously right now. I overdid it showing off to Alicia earlier." _The auburn-haired boy immediately summoned a magic circle beneath his feet. _"Oh well. I should still be able to escape!" _

Vivio immediately charged the auburn-haired boy. "Wait! Don't leave yet!"

Yuusei ignored her protests and continued his spell. He disappeared in a flash of light. Nowhere to be seen with Alicia laying next to where he once stood. It took Vivio a split second to dash through the spot where the auburn-haired boy once stood. She held the air in her open palms. She clenched her fists and slammed the left one into the ground.

Einhart cautiously approached her. "Vivio?"

"This is so screwed up," muttered Vivio, ignoring Einhart's words. A light veil of rain began to fall, quenching the flames of destruction that Yuusei had left in his wake. At last, Vivio finally rose from where she knelt and scooped Alicia into her arms and cradled her. "How did I know that you were going to sneak out?" she asked with a sad smile.

A warm hand carefully caressed Vivio's shoulder. "I caught his mana signature just before he fled the scene," whispered Einhart. "I'll go looking for Yuusei after I report to Commander Yagami that we ran into him. You take Alicia home, okay?"

"Okay," replied Vivio. "But if you happen to find him, let me know."

"Very well," said Einhart. She turned around to leave, but Vivio suddenly grabbed on to her hand. "Vivio?"

"Alicia was never here. I'll go home and her wounds." Vivio looked back down at Alicia with empathetic eyes. "I think she's suffered enough."

Einhart nodded her head. "Okay." She took a moment to hug Vivio from behind. "Are you going to be okay?"

For a moment, Einhart received no reply.

"Yeah, I'll be okay," answered Vivio. "Let's get moving."

The two left without another word to one another in opposite directions.

* * *

Yuusei warped into plain, metallic room. It was completely white in color. There was a single door exit with a design similar to the bureau's base rooms. "Koga, you back yet?" he yelled.

No answer.

The auburn-haired boy was just about to walk away when a voice called for his attention.

"Hey Yuusei, you made it back. It's been awhile!"

Yuusei turned to find a boy of similar features to him. The only difference being his dark, brown hair compared to Yuusei's fiery brown. Their deep blue eyes were almost the exact same shade. An excited smile immediately found spread itself across the auburn-haired boy's face. "No joke! How have you been, Koga?"

"I've been alright," answered Koga. "Hey, did you hear that XII was active in the city today? The other Harlaown girl."

The auburn-haired boy froze for a moment. "Y-Yeah, I did."

Koga seemed puzzled for a moment. Putting two-and-two together, he asked, "Wait, you fought her? How was she?"

"She was so-so," answered Yuusei with a heavy sigh. "It's obvious that she's only recently gotten a real hold on the basics. She's above average, but it's obvious she's had no one come at her with the intent to kill her."

"Yeesh," muttered Koga. "Couldn't just go easy on her, could you?"

"Well, she _did_ have one of the new hybrid devices, so she didn't get hurt. After a while I just knocked her out. Two bureau girls showed up shortly after, so she should be okay now."

"Oh, right. I totally forgot about that," mused Koga. "You have a hard time killing women and children, right? That nice streak is gonna get you killed one day."

"Thanks for the concern, but I'll be fine," countered Yuusei. "I personally think that your willingness to kill whoever you're told to kill is more disturbing."

There was silence.

Suddenly, Koga's eyes lit up. "Oh, that's right! I heard the new resonator units should be ready today!"

Laughing, Yuusei teased, "Who's the older one here?"

"Whatever! It's only by a few months anyway," answered Koga with a goofy grin. Looking around cautiously, he asked, "Wanna check it out?"

Before Yuusei could reply, the two boys heard a beeping noise. A message. The two quickly activated their sound only communicators.

"Yes, what do you want Precia?" asked Koga with an indifferent-tone-of-voice.

Yuusei said nothing.

"Is Yuusei with you?" asked Precia.

"Yeah, he is."

"Good," said Precia. "I want both of you to go and lay waste to Cranagan. Most of the stronger members of the bureau are out fighting Prometheus and Pandora. It should give you two more than enough time to inflict substantial damage to the area."

The two boys looked at each while frowning irately.

"By the way, Koga."

There was silence.

"Yeah?" answered Koga.

"I promise you a gracious reward if you manage to bring me the commander's head."

Koga glared at the screen, suddenly thankful that Precia could not see his face. "Fine," he replied stiffly.

At last, the message window disappeared.

Yuusei eyed Koga with a level gaze. "So, when are we heading out?"

An unreadable expression made its way onto Koga's face. "We're going to the lab."

"Huh? Why the lab? Wouldn't we be wasting time?" Suddenly, realization flickered about in Yuusei's eyes. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, I would," replied Koga with a devilish grin. "If the people in the labs are done, we'll have everything that we need to escape from here."

"Us against the world?" asked Yuusei with a mischievous grin on his face.

"If it comes to that, hell yeah," replied Koga merrily. The two made their way to the single exit to the room; however, Koga suddenly stopped walking upon opening the door. "Last chance, Yuusei. I can't guarantee that we won't be killed if we do this. Gonna back out?"

Yuusei didn't answer him for a moment. At last, he replied, "We're probably gonna get the short end of the stick either way. Might as well go down in style."

"Crazy bastard," laughed Koga.

"Thanks. I'm proud of it," joked Yuusei.

With that, the two began their quiet trek to the lab. From this moment forward, these two boys had set the gears of destiny into motion. For better or worse, they had set into motion the events that would change their lives forever.

* * *

_**Twenty minutes later...**_

* * *

Yuusei and Koga crept through several hallways until they finally found themselves in a white lab room. It seemed that everyone had gone out to lunch with no security left behind to keep watch on the lab. Then again, this _was _an underground laboratory. Looking to his right, Yuusei noticed a strange pair of tubes with life-sustaining fluid. "Are those the resonators?" he asked while pointing at the tubes.

Koga shrugged his shoulders. "Probably. Resonators were built with the intention of working like Unison Devices and Stroseks. I have to admit though, even while I'm looking at them up-close, they don't look like anything special."

Looking at them again, Yuusei flushed and quickly looked away for a second before realizing that they were already clothed. Deciding to play it off, he took a quick peak at the control panel. "Seems like they're done preparing them Koga. Can you take it from here?"

"Yeah, sure," replied Koga. "Just make sure to keep watch. If anyone shows up, blast 'em."

"You got it," said Yuusei as he stepped out of the room and into the hallway. Looking from left to right, there was not a single guard in sight. The auburn-haired boy looked back at Koga, who in less than ten minutes, had removed the two girls from their tubes. He seemed to be having trouble waking them up though.

"They're out like lights," complained Koga whilst struggling to lift one of the girls. They were much taller than them, making it difficult for Koga to find a comfortable position to hold her from.

Yuusei chuckled. "They wouldn't wanna make this hi-jacking _that _easy, would they?"

"Yeah, guess I should've seen this coming," mused Koga. Suddenly, one of the girls began to stir. "Oh, Yuusei, come here. They're waking up!"

Despite his fears, Yuusei came to Koga's side and went straight to observing the two now that they were out of their tubes. He could not make any exact judgments. They were too closed up and asleep. Still, to get out of here they would have to wake them up and calmly escort them out of the building. Waving his hand in front of one, he said, "They're totally out cold Koga. How are we gonna get them outta here?"

Koga shook his head. "Dunno, we're gonna have to wake them up first."

Yuusei grimaced and gently shook one's shoulder. "Hey," he whispered, "you alive?" he asked. It seemed like a stupid question, but it seemed appropriate since they were submerged in fluid.

At last, one of the girls began to stir. She groaned aloud. "Ugh, my head." The girl's hair was a darker gold color with eyes green and red. Her outfit was a tad unusual, being a skin-tight black suit with an armor piece for her abdomen.

Taking note of this, Yuusei backed away. "What the hell?"

Koga's eyes lit with interest. Turning to face Yuusei, he asked, "Somethin' wrong?"

"They look like them," answered Yuusei.

"Who looks like who?" inquired Koga.

"The girls," began Yuusei, "They look like the two older girls from the TSAB that I ran into before I escaped the attack site."

"Seriously?"

Yuusei nodded. "Positive."

Koga looked at the girl laying down before him. Her long hair was a minty-silverish color and she was dressed in a white battle dress. "Hmm, I have to say, this is pretty weird. Project Photon was shut down after the last of the Testarossas was born. Why would there be genetically enhanced children here?"

"There's Project F," suggested Yuusei.

"Fair enough," replied Koga, "But that doesn't explain why they're unison devices."

Another groan sounded in the room. "Is it morning?" asked the minty-haired girl.

Upon closer inspection, the two resonators strongly resembled Vivio and Einhart. After letting out a loud yawn, the one resembling Vivio began to speak. "Sankt-Resonator, Olivia at your service."

The silvery-mint-haired girl nervously shifted her gaze between the two boys. "H-Hegemon-Resonator, Aerith is ready for combat."

Koga waved at the two girls with a welcoming smile. "Hey there," he said, "I'm Koga and this here is my partner-in-crime, Yuusei."

Aerith blinked for a moment, quietly scrutinizing the two boys. "You two must be quite skilled to think that you can use a resonator at such a young age."

"Tch." Koga felt his eyebrow twitch. "Listen here toots, I'll have you know that I am one of the highest-ranked combatants among _all_ of the Project Photon survivors!"

Olivia yawned once more whilst stretching her arms. "Just be careful when you use us, alright? I don't wanna hear any complaining if you get hurt." Standing up, she added, "Oh, right. Aerith, we should probably change into our combatant forms."

Aerith nodded to her. "Right."

"Whoa, hold on a second," interrupted Yuusei, "What's a combatant form?"

Olivia's eyes lit with curiosity. "You don't know? It's our true form. This is just the initial form they installed for us based upon the DNA used to create us. Our true form is what we really look like, and it raises our stats a fair amount."

"Please be patient. It will only take a moment," said Aerith monotonously.

Not too long after saying that, a pillar of light engulfed the two resonators. The light almost blinded the two unsuspecting boys and forced them to look away.

Attempt to ignore the blinding light before them, Koga muttered, _"I haven't heard of unison devices with different forms before."_

_"Don't feel bad. It's not familiar to me either," _replied Yuusei.

For several moments the light blinded them in this way until moments later when it finally died down. In place of the two girls stood two slightly older looking girls. One, in the place where Aerith once stood had her hair in double braids. Her hair had gone completely white in color, with eyes gleaming gold.

As for where Olivia once stood, the girl's blonde hair had become much shorter slightly brighter in shade while both of her eyes had become green in color. She was also wearing an armor similar to Vivio's barrier jacket.

[Aerith Silverbane Combatant Form: Army of One] the white-haired girl identified now as Aerith said in an almost metallic voice.

[Olivia Leonhart Combatant Form: Kaiser Trans] the golden-haired girl identified now as Olivia said in an equally metallic voice.

Koga and Yuusei sat where they were, completely befuddled by what they had just seen.

"Hey," began Koga. "Did they just-"

"Change form out of nowhere? Yes, yes they did," deadpanned Yuusei.

There was silence.

The two boys stared at each other for a moment. Eventually, gigantic grins spread across their faces. "This is totally _awesome!_"

Aerith watched the two boys celebrate with intense curiosity. _"They seem a bit different from the two mages we were supposed to be assigned to." _

Olivia shrugged her shoulders. _"I don't mind. The other two were annoying. I like these two a lot more." _Eyeing her fellow resonator, the blond asked, _"Shall we partner up with them?" _

_"I don't see any harm in it," _replied Aerith.

"Good," muttered Olivia. Waving at Yuusei and Koga with a mischievous grin, she said, "Hey, let's talk business for a bit. We need to decide on how we're going to get out of here after all."

* * *

Meanwhile, Nanoha and the rest of the Section Six members were having problems of their own.

Nanoha unleashed Starlight Breaker into the clouds, but by then it was too late, Prometheus had already reacted! He emerged from the clouds, laughing maniacally. "It's too late now chumps! Prepare yourselves!" he yelled wildly between fits of psychotic laughter. Nanoha gasped as Prometheus's scythe swiftly met with her staff. He chipped the staff, but just barely. What he had hit for the most part was Nanoha's Round Shield spell. The grey-haired boy kept striking in this manner, continuously focusing on one spot. "Kill- hahaha- I'll KILL YOU ALL!" he yelled demonically as he continued to slice at the mage's shield.

Nanoha on the other hand, was not nearly as amused as Prometheus. While he was busy striking and focusing on a single point, she was preparing a focused blast from behind her Round Shield. _"Just a little more," _she thought to herself quietly. _"If I hit him at this distance with my full power, he'll be down for the count!"_

While this was going on, Fate was faring no better against the equally as dangerous Pandora, who had also decided to react. Her shield was down and she was chasing Fate all over the streets with what seemed to be homing fighter bits. Fate cursed as a laser of magical energy just barely missed her hair. "Tch, figures I'd get a long distance opponent!"

Pandora on the other hand stood motionless in the center of the street, uninterested in Fate's predicament as she directed the fighter bits to her location and attempted to shoot her. "She won't escape," muttered Pandora.

"Oh yes she will, bitch!" yelled Vita angrily as she left her post near Nanoha. She sped towards her opponent, Graf Eisen at the ready. She readied her stance and aimed to make a clear shot a Pandora's head. When Vita finally swung her mighty hammer, she was met with an incredible wall, no, a shield!

While controlling six fighter bits, Pandora was still capable of shield herself. She looked up at Vita, completely uninterested in her assault. "Go away, I'm not done playing with her yet," hissed Pandora as smaller magic circle appeared in front of her shield.

Vita's eyes widened as she noticed a large amount of energy gathering inside of the circle. "Shit!" she yelled as she attempted to escape the blast radius. Unfortunately, she was too late. The blast almost engulfed her entire left arm. Thank goodness for her barrier jacket or her arm would have been lost to the world. Due to the sudden imbalance from the blast, Vita tumbled back to the ground. She cursed indignantly.

From where Signum and the rest of the Wolkenritter were fighting, they noticed the difficulties of their fellow comrades and cursed. "This is bad," Signum muttered allowed.

As Zafira punched through yet another beast and sent a Steel Yoke through another, he said, "and it only seems to be getting worse."

Indeed Zafira was right. Things were getting worse for the group. Nanoha was in a completely bind going toe to toe with an opponent that she needed actual charging time to deal serious damage to, with Fate unable to get too close because of the constant interference of the remotely guided fighter bits. Thankfully, their fight seemed to end with his last two kills.

"Time for backup!" yelled Erio as Shamal teleported the three to Pandora's general location.

Pandora's eyes raced around herself as she made quick note of the fact that she was surrounded. _"Oh no! I was too careless-"_ she was distracted from her thoughts when Fate finally managed to break through her barrage of lasers and land a blow with the Zanber form on one of Pandora's shields. With a little force, she shattered one of them completely; however, Pandora created five more to take its place.

Calmly speeding to her group's side, Fate said, "Thanks for the surprise guys. You helped me catch her for a moment."

Signum grinned. "No problem," she replied whilst raising her sword. "Let's finish her off and take her back for questioning."

Pandora grimaced and looked upward._ "Prometheus, I need help-"_

_"Sorry! I'm busy too you know!" _Prometheus mentally yelled as he charged forward.

Nanoha smiled. _"Just what I was waiting for," _she thought to herself. She was done charging. The White Devil was finally ready for the counterattack. "Divine Buster!" she yelled. A beam of pink energy raced forth from her device and slammed into Prometheus, sending him sailing through the sky.

Soon after that, Prometheus quickly recovered and charged the White Devil once more, scythe at the ready. He raced toward her, even with his damaged body. "I'll get you this time-"he never got to finish his sentence as a silver beam of energy crashed into his side and slammed him into the ground beside his sister.

"Bulls-eye," cheered Touma as he brandished his divider.

_"Well done Touma!" _exclaimed Lily.

Isis smirked and waved at their comrades. "Sorry we're late," she told them, "but without further delay the cavalry has arrived!"

Prometheus and Pandora growled. What was a somewhat disadvantageous battle had suddenly become a completely one-sided trouncing.

* * *

_BOOM! _

Back at the lab, Koga and Yuusei were running about the lab. Their bodies were covered in blood and their dividers were out and ready for combat. While Yuusei's greatly resembled Touma's, Koga's took on the appearance of an energy buzz saw.

"Photon subjects Koga and Yuusei have gone berserk!" yelled a man hiding around the corner. "I repeat! Subjects Koga and Yuusei have- AGH!"

_BAM! SPLAT!_

With a powerful slice, Yuusei and sliced the panicking man into two and dashed toward what appeared to be the lobby of the research facility. With a final push, he and Koga were finally standing outside of what appeared to be a hospital entrance. Finally out of harm's way, the two took a moment to glance over themselves.

"I like the new look," said Koga aloud, admiring the new wardrobe from his unison. His eyes had turned green and his hair was now a golden-blond color. "Not bad, Olivia."

_"I'm glad that you're satisfied, but don't you two have something to do right now?"_ she asked.

Koga smirked._ "Kind of, but we don't have to rush into it," _he explained to her over telepathy. _"Right now, Yuusei and I have to clean up a little. If we walk or fly around like this we'll be found out in no time."_

_"What he means to say is that we look suspicious all armored up and covered up in blood like this," _chimed Yuusei. It was true. The two were completely garbed in knight's armor. Due to the unison, Yuusei's hair had become pure-white in color while his eyes had become as gold as Aerith's were.

_"Fair enough. What would you two like to do then?" _asked Aerith.

Yuusei shook his head. _"I'm wokin' on that one. For now, I think it'd be a good time to find somewhere quiet to hide and wash all of this blood off."_

_"Agreed,"_ said Koga._ "Once we've freshened up a little and managed to rest up a bit, we're going to take care of some business with the TSAB."_

Yuusei raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "We're seriously going to attack them right now?"

Koga nodded his head. "No better time than the present. Data of what was actually here will be leaked eventually. Once that happens, they'll figure out a cover measure for their powers. We should make use of our element of surprise."

"Hmm." Yuusei thought about it for a moment before saying, "Fine, sounds good, but you're leading the charge."

"Naturally," replied Koga.

With the finer details of their plan complete, the two set off to find some shelter -and hopefully- a shower.

* * *

At last we return to our young heroine Alicia, who currently lay asleep in her bed. Chrono was standing over her beside Vivio. "So you're saying that Alicia ran off into town and fell?"

"Yeah. It seems like she hit her head," answered Vivio.

"Sure you didn't see anything else?" asked Chrono.

"Yeah," replied Vivio.

"It's okay, Vivio," said Chrono reassuringly. "I promise that I will keep whatever it is that you saw a secret."

Vivio sighed. "Fine." She paused. "Alicia saw him. Yuusei I mean."

Chrono's eyes widened. "She did what? Wait- he was responsible for the fire?" He looked away for the moment and then back to the window, thinking of the auburn-haired mage fighting outside with her comrades. "Does your mother know yet?" he asked stiffly.

Vivio shook her head. "Ein caught a glimpse of his signal right before he escaped, so we're tracking him now."

While Chrono was a superior officer, he was also part of the family. If anything, he knew better than anyone to judge a crook before knowing the whole story. "Very well. If he's detained I will argue for his freedom. Nanoha had the right to raise that boy from the very beginning. If anything, Alicia might enjoy having an older brother."

"Thanks a lot, Uncle Chrono." Vivio smiled. It paid real well to have family in the higher-ups.

Chrono smiled and ruffled the girl's hair. "No problem kiddo."

During this exchange, the two hadn't realized that Alicia had woken a few moments ago and had been listening the entire time. She continued to feign unconsciousness, but in her mind she was filled to the brim with questions. _"Yuusei is Nanoha-mama's son?" s_he thought to herself in shock. _"If that's the case, why did he attack me? Why doesn't he live with us? What's going on here?" _She had so much to ask, so much more that she wanted to know, but she knew she had to remain silent.

"So, that Project Photon stuff," began Vivio. Biting her lip, she asked, "They won't really terminate any of them will they?"

Chrono crossed his arms and heaved a heavy sigh. "It's hard to say. We might get pardon for Yuusei if we argue really, really well, but our odds of securing proper rights for the others are low."

Vivio growled. "But that's not fair! None of them ever asked for this!"

"Calm down, you'll wake up Alicia," warned Chrono.

Little did he know, Alicia was awake and becoming more and more curious by the second._ "What in the world are they talking about?" _she thought to herself. _"Whatever it is, it's making Vivio really upset." _

Alicia heard Vivio slam a fist against one of her bedroom walls. "Even if they are genetically engineered children, Alicia and Yuusei never deserved any of this!" yelled a frustrated Vivio.

Alicia's eyes threatened to tear themselves open. _"Hold on, What did Sis just say? Genetically engineered children?"_ A whirlpool of emotions began to well up inside of her. _"H-Hey, this is some kinda joke. Right, Sis? I-I get it. This is a bad dream!"_ she thought to herself desperately. _"Yeah this is all a bad dream! So please, Sis, wake me up already… please?"_ she mentally begged. The little mage felt herself drowning a sea of questions when she realized that she was wide-awake, so much so that tears began to leak from her tightly shut eyes. This wasn't a dream. This was reality. Who was she? Was she Alicia Takamachi-Harlaown, Fate's little girl, or was she some kind of experiment created by the TSAB? She no longer knew and it terrified her.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

Sorry for the delay everybody! This one went through quiet a bit of debugging and in some areas, rewriting, so it took a bit longer than the previous sections. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter.


	4. A Fiery Reunion

**[Record 04: A Fiery Reunion]**

"Vivio, this isn't a good time to talk about this," advised Chrono.

"Then when_ is_ a good time to talk about this, Uncle Chrono?" Vivio persisted loudly. The blond hung her head low with her bangs covering her eyes. "I should have been told about this from the beginning."

Chrono felt his palm caress his face. _"She's like how Fate was during her periods as a teenager, more temperamental than a dragon,"_ he mentally complained. Sighing, the raven-haired man said, "We could talk about this any other time, just now now."

Vivio still seemed unsatisfied, but she eventually sighed with defeat. "Fine. I'll just ask Nanoha-mama about it tomorrow."

Chrono crossed his arms and sighed. "I understand how you feel about this Vivio," he began, "but we need to think about Alicia's well being as we proceed from here on, okay?"

Vivio was silent for a moment, eyeing her "younger sister" with eyes filled with empathy and confusion. She was at a loss with several desired outcomes and no solutions to get her those outcomes. Just as she was about to answer Chrono though, her communicator beeped.

"Vivio, I found him," said Einhart. "He's with another boy now though. They're in casual clothes wandering town with two older girls about our age. Shall I actively pursue him?"

The blond cocked a curious eyebrow. _"He's with friends? I thought he would be reporting back to a base or something." _Humming to herself thoughtfully, she replied, "Keep tailing him and send me your active coordinates. I'll be there in a minute."

"Roger," replied Einhart while hanging up.

At last Vivio's gaze shifted between Alicia, Chrono, and the door. Her body tensed while her feet shuffled about. The blond's gaze finally settled on Chrono, silently asking him whether he would let her leave or not.

There was silence.

"Are you gonna go after him?" asked Chrono.

Vivio nodded. "I have to."

Chrono said nothing for a moment, eyeing Alicia with a worry-filled gaze. "Avoiding conflict with Yuusei is your best bet if you want him to come with you quietly, but he may attack you without warning. He may even attempt to kill you. Are you prepared for that?"

With serious eyes, Vivio replied, "Bring it."

"Hmm." At last, Chrono motioned to the door. "Good luck, Vivio. Just remember that Alicia sneaking out never happened. Your mothers will kill me if they find out."

Giggling, Vivio replied, "Right. Thanks, Uncle Chrono." With that, the blond immediately flew out the door and made to join Einhart in the city.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yuusei was currently travelling with Koga and the two resonators, who had returned to their original forms. They had just finished their showers at a public bathhouse that they had snuck into and were currently taking a break and enjoying a bit of sight-seeing around the city. "This city's such a peaceful place," muttered Yuusei.

"Almost makes me feel bad that we were told to tear it up," murmured Koga.

Aerith eyed the two boys for a moment before asking, "Don't you two have families to go home to? According to my database, most children your age would be home at this hour."

Koga and Yuusei looked at each other for a moment, but soon nodded their heads and stared off into space. "Truth is, Aerith, we don't have parents," answered Yuusei.

Koga nodded. "Yuusei was separated from his parents after he was born. They never came to get him, so they sorta abandoned him. As for me, I don't know my parents all that well since I've never met them before."

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," said Aerith apologetically. "I had no idea that the two of you were-"

"No worries, Aerith. You didn't mean anything bad by it," replied Yuusei with a friendly grin.

"I-I see," said Aerith slowly. "Very well then."

Olivia snickered and nudged Aerith on the side with mischievous eyes. "Oh ho! You've found yourself quite a fine lord, hmm, Aerith?"

Aerith flushed and shook her head. "O-Olivia that's taking things out of context!"

"Yeah right," teased Olivia, "You should see the look on your face right now. It's hilarious!"

Einhart, who was listening in on their conversation from afar, felt terribly confused. _"I didn't expect someone who's wanted for execution to be out playing so freely in town like this," _she thought to herself quietly. Looking around, she said, "Better get them to come with me before someone else finds them."

Just as Einhart was about to continue walking towards them, Vivio quietly ran up behind her. "Sorry I'm late!"

Einhart immediately shushed her and pointed directly ahead of them to the party of four who were continuing their stroll through town. Their backs were completely turned and it seemed that they had not yet sensed their presence.

"Let's see if we can engage them in a conversation," suggested Einhart

"Good idea," replied Vivio whilst nodding her head.

After this, the two resolved to sneak their way to the front of the party to start a conversation, but Yuusei and Koga were already aware that they were being followed. Noticing this, the two quickly began to pick up their walking pace.

"They the girls?" asked Koga.

Yuusei nodded. "Yeah they are. Should we run for it?"

"Nah, that'd only attract their attention. If they try to intercept us, I say we go quietly. We're fugitives on both sides right now, but I have a feeling that the TSAB is less likely to hurt us than Precia is," answered Koga.

There was silence.

"O-Okay then," said Yuusei hesitantly. "If you say so, Koga."

With their plan of action decided, the two boys purposefully slowed down and let the two girls step in front of them. They had conveniently made their way to the local park. It was a quiet place where people rarely went to at night, so it would make things easier for them if a fight broke out.

"Hey, remember us?" asked Einhart. The minty-haired bruiser came off a tad more intimidating than she probably should have, only realizing this when Yuusei's and Koga's bodies tensed at her words. Aerith and Olivia however seemed unaffected.

Yuusei felt his shoulder stiffen, reconsidering Koga's plan. "Y-Yeah, I do. What do you guys want?"

Vivio stepped forward, noting how she and Einhart looked just like the two girls travelling with Yuusei. Ignoring this fact for the moment, she continued to ease her way toward Yuusei until she was directly in front of him.

Nervous, Koga immediately began to draw closer toward Yuusei to separate him from Vivio. "U-Uh, Miss," he began, "If you have a problem with my friend, maybe you can talk it out with me?" he offered. Koga's voice was hard and cold, a huge change from his usually laid-back demeanor.

Vivio ignored Koga and fell to her knees as she quietly embraced a baffled Yuusei.

Yuusei froze, unable to move in blond's warm embrace. "Wh-What's wrong, miss?"

Everyone remained where they were, dumbfounded by Vivio's behavior.

"I-It's okay," assured Vivio. "Please don't fight with me," she pleaded. "We won't hurt you."

Yuusei flinched as she gently caressed his hair. He thought about it for a moment before remembering that he had come across this girl in the Project-F database: Vivio Takamachi, the product of Project-F that along with Fate Testarossa, led to the some of the basic concept work for Project Photon. She had supposedly been through treatment similar to how Precia treated them. She also happened to be Nanoha Takamachi's adopted daughter and therefore, by adoption, his older sister. At last, Yuusei asked, "How do I know that I can trust you? You wanna hand me over to the TSAB, don't you? There's no reason to put on the whole family act now."

Vivio shook her head. "Had I known you even existed before tonight, I would have tried to find you, protect you, I could have- I should have-" It was no use. The blond was finally sobbing uncontrollably and was not able to form coherent sentences anymore.

Seeing Vivio's tears, something stirred within Yuusei. A sharp, painful feeling ripped into his heart as his resolve caved in around him. His eyes finally softened. "What will you do with me then?"

"What do you mean?" asked Vivio.

"If you don't turn me in, everyone involved with your family could be accused of treason," warned Yuusei. "I'm doubtful that the Aces of Aces wants to live the life of a fugitive-"

"You're coming home with me," interjected Vivio sternly. Her grip tightened on Yuusei's body, refusing to let him go. Looking at the auburn-haired boy's companions, she added, "Your friends can come too. I don't mind."

Yuusei felt his eyes narrow whilst scoffing at the fact that Vivio hadn't answered his question. "Are you listening to me? You all will be branded trai-"

"I don't care," argued Vivio stubbornly. "If anyone tries to take you away again, I'll beat 'em to a pulp!"

While he attempted to remain stiff and cold in the young woman's arms, Yuusei's body finally began to quiver. At last his resolve was near-completely crumbled away. _"What am I even doing?" _he asked himself quietly. _"Why am I rejecting her? This is what I wanted, right? I can be free. I won't have to kill anymore. I can live in a warm house. I'll have a family. I...I..." _Finally, tears began to spill from the auburn-haired boy's eyes. "I don't even know what I want anymore!"

There was silence.

"Vivio, we should continue this elsewhere," advised Einhart.

Giggling sheepishly, Vivio replied, "Yeah, you're probably right." Looking to Yuusei and his friends, she said, "Come with us. I promise you that nothing bad will happen to any of you."

Yuusei hesitated, but eventually nodded his head. Koga did so as well, but much more quickly than Yuusei had. "You ladies have yourselves a deal," Koga told them as he and the two resonators made their to Yuusei's side. With their new-found close proximity, they could now use teleportation magic to transport to a new location together.

"It's better if we do this at your place, Ein," advised Vivio.

"Is that gonna be okay with Nanoha-san?" asked Einhart.

"It'll be fine. I'll tell her that I'm sleeping over. We can tell her about all of this after that," answered Vivio.

Einhart nodded. "Very well, let's go then," she said while summoning a green magic circle. In a flash, they were engulfed by light and made haste towards Einhart's house. As they did so, Vivio mentally relayed the events from the park to Chrono.

_"Should I send guards to Einhart's house?" _asked Chrono.

_"No. We just promised them that nothing bad would happen. I just want to talk with them for a while. I'm gonna tell Mama where I am soon, but I just thought I'd let you know first," _answered Vivio.

_"Okay, be safe," _replied Chrono.

_"I will," _said Vivio.

Not too long after that conversation was over, the group arrived at the large home of Einhart Stratos. Yuusei, Koga, Aerith, and Olivia could only gaze up at the amazing manor in awe. They had never seen something like this before. Einhart's home was incredibly beautiful and held a regal air to it.

Watching the four children, Vivio understood their sentiments well. She was equally as impressed when she had first seen it herself. Smiling brightly, Vivio asked, "Ready to go inside?"

* * *

_**Meanwhile...**_

* * *

Back at the Takamachi-Harlaown residence, Chrono had left Alicia's room to make a business call. While he did so, Alicia sneakily opened an eye to find that no one was in her room at the moment. Taking advantage of this, she slowly sat herself up and began to reflect on what she had just learned. _"What in the world were they talking about it? If all of that's true, who am I? Who is Yuusei? Nothing's making sense to me anymore." _All of these thoughts and more swam through her head, leaving her filled with confusion._ "Why was Vivio so upset? Isn't Fate-mama like this too?" _she asked herself. Hearing Chrono's footsteps, she quickly dove back under the covers.

Listening from under her blanket, Alicia heard Chrono reopen the door. When he took note of Alicia's supposedly still-sleeping figure, he sighed and left the room once more. After making sure he had shut the door, Alicia returned to her sitting position and looked out the window. Seeing the fire caused by Yuusei's magic consuming the city, she asked herself, "Why aren't you here too?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Prometheus and Pandora were fighting the TSAB mages and knights. Fortunately -or unfortunately- the reaper and witch siblings weren't doing so well. Every attack they attempted was pushed back and swiftly countered. That counter was quickly followed by an attack. They couldn't keep up.

Prometheus growled at them as he tapped the ground with his scythe. A scarlet magic circle appearing beneath him. "We _will _finish this sometime soon," he warned. Looking at Nanoha and Fate he grinned cruelly and said, "I just can't wait until you two see what the auburn-haired brat looks like going all out. He'll be a monster for all to see, just like his devil of a mother!"

Nanoha's face twisted with rage as she quickly readied Raising Heart and mercilessly unleashed several shots from her Axel Shooter spell at once. Prometheus laughed cruelly as he and Pandora teleported away, causing all six shots to miss. Nanoha's hands shook as she tightly gripped Raising Heart.

Worrying for her partner, Fate quickly placed a hand over hers. "We don't know what he's talking about yet, Nanoha. Let's not jump to any conclusions," she advised.

Nanoha smiled sadly at Fate while hugging her and whispering, "I want to sleep close together tonight."

Fate smiled and brought the auburn-haired mage into a warm embrace. "Okay."

Thoma on the other hand struck a pensive pose, staring off in the general direction of Einhart's house. "Hmm."

_"What's wrong, Thoma?" _asked Lily.

"It's strange," whispered Thoma, "But I'm picking up Eclipse Virus readings from over there."

_"What do you think it could mean?"_

"I don't know yet. Prometheus and Pandora were similar cases, but these four signals seem to be more proper cases."

_"What should we do?"_

"I'm gonna sneak away. We'll take Isis with us, but we're gonna go check it out," replied Thoma.

Thoma could hear Lily humming in his head. "_Okay, let's get moving then. Remember, we have to report to Hayate-san in the morning."_

After sensing that their conversation was over, Thoma slyly strolled over to Isis and tapped her shoulder. "There's another set of signals not too far from here. Lily and I are gonna go check it out. You in?"

Isis nodded with a grin. "Always."

Looking towards everyone else, Thoma said, "Hey, everyone! Our unit is gonna go check something out. We'll see you all tomorrow at the post-mission briefing!"

Signum crossed her arms, eyeing Thoma and Isis curiously.

Thoma internally cursed. _"Oh no. Signum's onto us." _

"Do you want back up?" asked Signum. It wasn't really a question. It was an order.

"U-Uh sure," stuttered Thoma, "You can come along if you'd like, Signum."

"Mm," replied Signum. "I'm leaving with the Zero Unit as well."

Fate raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you want us to come with you guys?"

Signum shook her head, smiling. "Don't worry, they have me with them. We'll be fine."

Fate seemed hesitant, but eventually nodded her head in defeat. "Alright then, Signum, but please be careful."

"Of course," replied Signum.

With that, the unit of four sped off in the direction of the new signals while everyone else watched them with intense suspicion.

_"That's too weird. Why would they go to check it out immediately? Usually, Signum would ask Commander Yagami before heading out like this," _thought Erio. Looking around, the red-head noticed that everyone's faces were filled with suspicion. At last, he said to the crowd, "I'll follow them in secret. Caro will come with me. Anyone else want to come with me-?"

"We're going," answered Nanoha and Fate quickly. In fact, they said it so quickly that they had almost cut Erio off at the end of his offer.

Erio looked back in the direction Signum was heading along with the Zero Unit. It was in the direction of Einhart's house. Realizing this, he understood their worries. "Alright, let's wait awhile before heading there. We should let the guests arrive in waves or Einhart might get worried.""

"You got it, Captain Erio," replied Nanoha and Fate teasingly.

Looking at everyone else, Nanoha said, "I think it's best if we keep the group as small as possible from here onward. Everyone else, please return to Hayate and tell her what's happening."

"Roger," replied the remaining crew. That is, everyone with the exception of Vita.

"Me too," said Vita. "I'm going too."

After everyone had left, Erio gave Vita the nod of approval. "We will wait about three more minutes. That will give them enough time to get there and walk through the door. It might look kind of suspicious if a huge horde of us drop in at once."

"Right."

After everyone agreed, the newly-formed team began their wait.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Stratos residence, the doorbell sounded. Einhart raised an eyebrow, but curled her fists. _"What if it's ex-comrades of the boys?" _ Looking back at an inquisitive-looking Yuusei and a relaxed Koga, Einhart said, "I'm getting the door, Vivio."

Hearing the stiff tone in Einhart's voice, Vivio's eyes grew serious. "Okay," she said quietly. "If anything's wrong, just call for me."

"Mm," replied Einhart whilst traveling out of the living room and into a maze of hallways. Once she had finally arrived at the door, the minty-haired bruiser opened it to find Signum and the Zero Unit there waiting for her. "O-Oh," she said, "H-Hello everyone, why the late visi-"

"Do you have guests, Stratos?" asked Signum bluntly.

Einhart smiled nervously. Arguing with Signum wasn't really something anyone enjoyed doing. "K-Kind of." Looking at them, she added, "But first, please return to your unarmed forms, you'll scare them."

Raising an eyebrow, Signum and the Zero Unit complied. Thoma went as far as to disengage from Lily.

Looking at all of them, Einhart nodded her head and decided that it was finally safe to let them in. "Okay, come in. They're in the living room upstairs with Vivio."

With that, the group made their way into Einhart's house.

* * *

_**A few minutes later...**_

* * *

When Yuusei and Koga had caught sight of Einhart's four guests, they immediately re-armored, causing Signum to immediately withdraw Laevatein, and Thoma to react. Isis seemed to be the only one not quite ready to draw out her weapon. Vivio immediately stood between the two and yelled, "Wait, wait! They're on our side!"

Signum caressed her face with her palm. "What are those two doing here Vivio?" she asked sternly.

Yuusei eyed her for a moment before making his way behind Vivio, just barely standing beside his sister. "You're the one I fought yesterday, aren't you?"

"Correct. I am Signum, and this is Laevatein," answered Signum. "Boy, what is your name?"

"Yuusei," the boy paused, "Yuusei Takamachi, son of the Aces of Aces." A powerful aura of deep-red magic engulfed the boy's body, but his incredible display of power did little to impress Signum.

Signum eyed the blazing aura intently. She was intrigued by the boy's ferocity, but it did little to impress her; rather, she was more impressed by the sheer density of his mana._ "Such potent mana at a young age. He is definitely Nanoha's son," _she thought to herself. "Where did you learn such control over your magic?"

Yuusei shrugged his shoulders. "We're all taught to do stuff like this. I'm actually not all that special. Two friends of ours, Sofia and Hilda, are really good at it though. One attack from either of them and you're a goner!" The auburn-haired boy seemed to grow pale upon recalling something terrible regarding the two people in question.

Signum felt her grip on Laevatein slacken. _"It appears that Vivio and Einhart have succeeded in convincing him that we mean no harm," _she thought to herself quietly. "Very well. Who are these other three individuals?"

Yuusei looked back to them, and eventually back to Signum, a reacted Thoma, and Isis. "I want the two behind you to introduce themselves first," answered the auburn-haired boy.

Thoma smiled and immediately stepped forward. "I'm Thoma Avenir, an Eclipse Driver. My plug, who you saw earlier, is named Lily."

_"Nice to meet you," _said Lily over telepathy.

Isis smiled at the four runaways and gave them a relaxed wave. "And I'm Isis. Thoma and I came here to check out Eclipse Virus signals coming from this house. Do you happen to know anything about this?"

Koga and Yuusei looked at each other and grinned. "'Know about it?'" repeated Koga with an enthusiastic grin on his face.

"Truth is, Koga and I are infectees ourselves," explained Yuusei. "The two behind us are resonators, a new type of unison device with the ability to function as unison devices, reactors, and combat-efficient knights."

At that moment, Aerith and Olivia stood, causing the entire crowd to stand at attention with the exceptions of Yuusei and Koga. The two of them grinned ear-to-ear.

"Ready to show off?" asked Koga.

Yuusei snickered. "Just don't screw up."

Yuusei took Aerith's right hand while Koga took Olivia's left, causing two respective magic circles to appear. Aerith's was a bright whitish-silver, while Olivia's was gold with green sparks. The magic circle then began to divide into multiple rings and gathered around the two boys. After that, they began to spin, creating a large, spinning pillar of light around the two of them.

"React!" the two boys yelled as they light settled. They appeared once again in the forms they had used during their little escape earlier this evening with Koga's hair pale-blond with his eyes green, and Yuusei with snow-white hair and golden eyes.

Yuusei's eyes gleamed with confidence as he withdrew a white and gold swordcannon similar to Thoma's divider. "Our magic is basically copied off of battle data from various sources." Looking at Thoma, he said, "Most of my fighting style was based off of your battle data."

Koga nodded, adding, "And mine was based off of various members of the Hückebein family." Looking down at his hands, Koga muttered, "The only problem with our strand of the Eclipse is that it's not a natural strand, so our powers have overwritten our normal magic."

Vivio tilted her head. "'Overwritten?'"

Yuusei nodded. "Normally, the average human being can learn multiple magic systems. You yourself are known for that, aren't you?"

Vivio nodded.

"Right. Well, in the case of our strands, we cannot use our Mid-Childan magic or our Belkan magic at all. It's been completely sealed off due to the unnatural virus strand corrupting our linker cores. It's a dangerous process and it's incredibly unstable. We'll probably require medical check ups on a daily basis once the vaccines they give us wear off," explained Yuusei.

Thoma nodded his head. "So what you're saying is that you guys can't use normal magic at all?"

"Plus added dangers to our health aside from the normal risks that come with the Eclipse," answered Koga. Hearing the sound of several objects landing in the courtyard, Koga smirked as he said, "Looks like you have more guests, Miss Einhart."

Einhart nodded, raising an eyebrow as she cautiously made her way down the stairs.

Meanwhile, outside; Erio, Caro, Nanoha, Fate, and Vita stood outside of the Stratos residence.

Vita's arms were crossed as she impatiently tapped her foot. "Geez that Stratos girl takes forever!"

Nanoha smiled, giggling lightly. "Nyahaha! Oh Vita, she's still young."

Vita huffed. She ceased her tapping, but kept her eyes trained on the door.

Eventually, Einhart did open the door, but when she saw Nanoha and Fate, her eyes filled with panic. _"Oh no! Vivio! Your mothers are here!" _

Vivio grew tense, but eventually regained her composure. _"Let them in, Ein."_

_"But-"_

_"Don't worry. She wanted to see him just as bad as I did."_

"…_Very well," _replied Einhart. Moving aside, she said, "Everyone's on the second floor. Please, make yourselves at home."

While Einhart was welcoming her new guests, Yuusei and Koga were receiving advice from Thoma.

"So, if we concentrate hard enough, we can create particle blades?" asked Yuusei excitedly.

"Right," answered Thoma. "Upon focusing enough energy, you'll be able to perform particle strikes. They're invisible to the average eye, so they're great for sneak attacks-"

"Hey, Thoma," yelled Isis. "Don't you think you're telling them a bit too much? They're not even our allies yet!"

"O-Oh, right," stuttered Thoma. Smiling apologetically, he said, "If you guys join our side, I can tell you more."

Yuusei nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds good."

"Count me in," chimed Koga.

The two boys shook Thoma's hand, leaving Isis to think to herself, _"Yeesh, the two of them are almost as enthusiastic as Nanoha is about fighting. Well, at least they were easier to convince than the Grendels were." _

Everyone was in the middle of their own interactions. The boys were talking with Thoma, Isis was now in the middle of catching up with Vivio, and Erio and Caro seemed to be relaxing on a nearby couch paying little attention to their surroundings. All of this came to a sudden halt when a certain white devil's voice pierced the room.

"YUUSEI!" yelled Nanoha.

Yuusei immediately looked up when he heard his name. His eyes finally fell on a woman in a white mage garb. "M-Mother."

Nanoha wasted no time in charging the currently white-haired boy. As she approached him, Yuusei summoned forth his divider and held it in a defensive stance. Nanoha stepped back, horribly shocked. "Y-Yuusei?"

Yuusei stared at her, his eyes never wavering. "Tell me why you did it."

Nanoha was devastated by Yuusei's hostile voice, but she maintained her composure while making a serious face. "I don't know what they told you, but we did everything we could to get you back. For what it's worth, I'm sorry that this happened to you." Suddenly looking at the boy's Eclipse markings, her eyes grew wide. "Those markings!"

Yuusei looked at her sadly. "That's right. I'm an Eclipse Driver. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't hold me like a normal person." His shoulders began to quiver.

Tears began to form in Nanoha's eyes. "I-Is something wrong?"

"You're damn right something was wrong!" yelled Yuusei. "Do you know what they did to me in there? They nearly killed me on a daily basis! And then Ivory tried to rebel against them and they… and they!" the boy broke down into a senseless fit of wailing. His comrade, Koga, stood completely shocked by the sudden outburst.

Nanoha's eyes burned from the tears that she was desperately trying to hold back. She finally crouched down, embracing the auburn-haired boy. "I'm sorry," she said, her own eyes filling with tears. "I'm so sorry!" she said through uncontrollable sobs.

Fate made to step forward to do, but was immediately stopped by Signum. "I don't think this is the end of it, Testarossa.".

Fate raised an eyebrow, but soon realized what she had meant when she sensed the massive amount of hostile energy building up around Yuusei.

Nanoha looked down at him, only now noticing his white hair and golden eyes. "You're going to have to introduce me to your Reactor Plug."

Yuusei laughed with a hoarse voice. "Yeah. I'm sure she'd like that."

There was silence.

At last, Yuusei suddenly began to grit his teeth. "…I want a match."

Nanoha looked down at him, confused by his words. "What?"

"If you really wanna make things up to me, then let's start with a one-on-one," answered Yuusei. Staring his mother down, he said, "I can't forgive you for what happened back then. Not just yet."

Nanoha remained where she sat in shock, but eventually, a smile crept onto her face. "Sure," replied the white devil. Suddenly, her smile blossomed fully with a final tear. "Nothing would make me happier than to see what my son is capable of!"

Yuusei was surprised by the positive response. "Okay then. Let's do this!"

Nanoha smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yeah, okay!"

The two immediately made their way to the door leading into the hallway when they were met halfway by Fate. The blond stared down at Yuusei with curious eyes. "So, you're Yuusei." Giggling, she said, "It's strange. The last time that I saw you, you were much smaller."

Yuusei eyed Fate with interest. "_This woman looks like Ivory and Alicia," _he thought to himself quietly. Looking at the blond swordswoman a little more closely, he thought to himself,_ "Must be Nanoha's partner, Fate Testarossa." _ His eyes stilled trained on her, a final thought swam across his mind._ "She's beautiful…"_

Having noticed the boys stares, and finding them all too familiar, Fate smiled playfully at the boy. "Geez, you're so much like your mother," she teased. Without warning, she lowered herself to his level and embraced him with her blinding speed. "Welcome home, Yuu."

Yuusei flushed, his embarrassment rising astronomically. "W-Wait a minute! What the? Hold on a sec!" he yelled frantically as he struggled out of the blonde's grip. His burning-red face had the entire room filled with laughter.

Erio strolled behind the boy and ruffled his hair. "It's alright, kid. A lot of boys your age would react like that after getting hugged by a woman as beautiful as Fate."

Yuusei looked down, still embarrassed by his reaction. "O-Oh."

Nanoha laughed, taking the youth's hand in hers. "Still ready to go, Yuusei?"

Yuusei's body returned to an all-business stance. "Yeah. Let's go."

A few minutes later, the two stood across from each other in a field of flowers. Everyone had left the building to come and spectate.

Vivio watched the two auburn-haired warriors with eyes seemingly unreadable. Memories flashed by of when Nanoha had to battle with her life on the line to save the young kaiser, and now, Yuusei and Nanoha had a battle of their own to settle. Instead, this one was to make up for lost time. _"It's fitting in a way," _she told Einhart over telepathy.

Einhart watched Yuusei warm up, replying, _"Like mother like son I suppose. It seems that everyone in the Takamachi family is a battle-maniac. Do you think that he's any good in martial arts?"_

Vivio giggled. _"Ein, let's not beat up on him yet. He's still a kid." _

Einhart pouted. _"Geez, I told you to stop calling me that!" _Seeing an angle she could use against her beloved friend, she added, _"And what of you, Vivio? You've become an overprotective big sister in under an hour."_

_"I'm just the same with Alicia," _argued Vivio.

Einhart giggled. _"__I never said that it was a bad thing. To be honest, I think that it's kind of cute."_

_"W-What?" _Vivio blushed madly. _"E-Einhart-"_

Einhart giggled while embracing Vivio from behind. "I win," she whispered mockingly.

"Careful," warned Vivio with a grin, "We might have to have another sparring match tomorrow."

"Come at me," urged Einhart

Just before things could get anymore steamy, Fate interrupted the growing cozy atmosphere with a quick, "Ahem."

Faces brighter than a red stoplight, Einhart and Vivio quickly separated and silently apologized to Fate; who only smiled, rolled her eyes, and shook her head.

The wind howled and lightly brushed up against Yuusei and Nanoha. The white devil stared down her son intently. _"I wonder how he will attack me?" _she thought to herself quietly. _"He has a divider like Thoma's, so I have a feeling that he'll go for a mixed close-range and long-range approach, but we'll see." _

Yuusei on the other hand seemed to be burning with what was either intense rage or intense excitement. _"Aerith, we're gonna go all out! I want you to use your ability once we've got her on the ropes," _commanded the auburn-haired boy over telepathy.

_"You got it," _replied Aerith.

Ready to begin, Yuusei began the battle by slashing his divider diagonally to test his reflexes. "Hmm." After a moment, he said, "Alright, I'm ready."

Nanoha raised an eyebrow, impressed by the raw power emitting from Yuusei's divider. _"Impressive," _she thought to herself excitedly. Smiling at he son, she exclaimed, "Come at me!"

Yuusei did as he was told, almost disappearing in a silent flash. He reappeared directly in front of Nanoha, bringing down his divider as if it were a mighty hammer. Steel collided against steel, but Nanoha held up Raising Heart's staff with every ounce of strength in her body. She was unmoved by his attack. "You'll need to do better than that!" warned the white devil.

A burst of magic light shot from a free-formed magic circle near Nanoha's abdomen, knocking Yuusei away from her.

Yuusei immediately stood up, forming a magic circle around the barrel of his divider. "Divide Blazer!" Not too long after that, a blazing stream of red light raced forth from the divider and toward Nanoha.

Nanoha barely managed to protect herself from the blast, using Protection EX to just barely weaken the blast. She smiled at him. The technique was similar to the Divine Buster, but it seemed to have been cast with the intention of destroying a barrier. He had anticipated her trying to block his assault. "He's got talent," she muttered quietly. The white devil could barely contain her excitement. For the first time in years, Nanoha felt alive. Brandishing her staff she yelled, "Is that all you've got?"

Yuusei shook his head, grinning ear to ear. "You haven't seen anything yet!"

The two collided once more. A battle between mother and son had finally begun, but to the spectators, it was a battle between devils.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

As an apology for the late release of Record 03, Record 04 is out early! Record 05 is where the minor changes begin since we'll basically be caught up to the original story after that. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the latest release!


	5. Mother & Son

**[Record 05: Mother & Son]**

Yuusei roared to life as he spun at an incredible speed, clashing against Nanoha's staff with his divider. Sparks flew from the two weapons as Yuusei snarled and drove his weapon even harder against the resisting staff. _"Even if she can get me with a bind at this distance, if I can break her device, this match is as good as mine." _

_Crack! _

A loud crack sounded from Raising Heart as crimson and pink light flared out from the two devices. The two combatants stared each other down in an attempt to deduce what the other's next move would be. The sparks loudly flew from their weapons as Yuusei's divider slowly slid away from Raising Heart.

Nanoha carefully tipped the staff toward her dominant hand. _"If I can get him to lose his balance, I can knock him down with magical damage after his guard has been compromised." __  
_

Unfortunately for the white devil, her son was just as excellent a tactician. Adjusting his angle in mid-air, Yuusei adjusted his device to maintain a consistent amount of pressure on Nanoha's staff. The auburn-haired mage snarled as he placed a hand on the blunt side of his weapon and slammed it against Nanoha's staff, forcing her off balance while rolling in for yet another powerful slash. "Eat this!"

_"Got you," _thought Nanoha as she created a barrier over her staff.

Just as Yuusei's divider was about to collide, he yelled, "Barrier Divider!" The sound of shattering glass pierced the night sky with Nanoha being sent quite a few paces away from her opponent. Yuusei however barely had time to celebrate, because a gigantic, pink laser immediately fired from where Nanoha was flying toward. He barely dodged the blast, only to hear the sound of Nanoha's device.

[Flier Fin,] cried Raising Heart.

The auburn-haired mage immediately turned around in mid-air. Nanoha was floating above Yuusei whilst forming a gigantic sphere of energy that seemed reminiscent to the Divine Buster, albeit much larger. At this distance, there was no where to run. With the amount of charging the attack already had on it, countering it was not a very safe solution. "Shi-"

"Strike Stars!" yelled Nanoha. A powerful beam erupted from Nanoha's staff, racing toward Yuusei at an incredibly speed.

_"Yuusei, that attack is approaching us too quickly! What should we do?" _asked Aerith.

_"Throw up your strongest defense. From there, I'll try to cushion the blow with the divide effect!" _yelled Yuusei with a dark scowl on his face.

_"You've got it," _answered Aerith. Not too long after this exchange, a large, minty-silver triangle appeared before Yuusei._ "Panzerschild!"_ yelled Aerith.

Over the barrier, Yuusei charged a smaller sphere of energy. Upon firing it, he yelled, "Divide Blazer!" A powerful beam of red energy just barely managed to collide with the Strike Stars spell, causing an enormous shockwave to emit through the area. Nearly everyone was forced to take a step back due to the sheer force of the collision.

Watching the battle from below, Signum thought to herself, _"He's not bad, but he has a long way to go if he wants to actually score a victory over Takamachi." _

As the light of their spells faded, Nanoha and Yuusei clashed once more. This time, they flashed against one another with their respective barrier spells. Without a moment to lose, Yuusei recklessly held the barrel of his weapon to Nanoha's face. "I can't lose here," said the auburn-haired quietly. Nanoha only had the chance to cock a confused eyebrow, quickly being forced to fly to her right and conjure yet another barrier to protect herself from Yuusei's relentless assault of crimson magic bolts. Putting down his gun and dispelling it, Yuusei held out his hands and curled them into fists. "Brennend Klaue!" Crimson flames built up around his hands, forming wolf-life claws.

Nanoha immediately conjured several pink bolts of energy and aimed her staff at Yuusei. "Blaster 1, set! Execute Wide Area Assault!"

[Sacred Cluster EX,] chanted Raising Heart.

When Yuusei looked up, he nearly paled at the rain of fast-moving pink energy bolts that were approaching him at a breakneck pace. He dodged to his left, to his right; but no matter where he dodged, he would take damage. The boy could only growl and howl with frustration and pain as he attempted -in vain- to avoid Nanoha's attack. Taking in her attack, words of children from the facility re-surfaced in Yuusei's mind.

_"No offense, but maybe your folks dumped you onto the streets because you were weak. I hear that's what mine did to me," _echoed a young girl's voice.

_"You're disgusting!" _exclaimed Prometheus. _"All you ever do is cling to III as if she were your life support, but in reality you are nothing but a sniveling worm who can't do anything without his big sister to protect him. It's no wonder that your mother abandoned you." _

_"A wimp like you," _began Pandora coldly, _"Doesn't deserve recognition. You are nothing." _

"To hell with that," growled Yuusei beneath his breath. Upon executing a well-timed punch, Yuusei managed to shatter two of the cluster bolts into pieces. Taking note of this, he immediately began to approach Nanoha at a terrifying pace while punching his way through the relentless rain of magic bolts. "I'll show you. I'll show all of you!" Upon reaching Nanoha's barrier, Yuusei immediately began to unleash a hail of punches against the magical wall. At this point, he ignored the bolts of magic that assaulted his back. All he cared about was landing at least a single blow on his opponent. "I'm just as strong as anyone else!" he yelled loudly. "Even if I get burnt to a crisp, I'm taking you with me dammit!"

_CRASH! CRACK! _

The barrier shattered before Yuusei's fierce words, leaving Nanoha seemingly defenseless and Yuusei winding up for another strike. Nanoha's eyes bulged with shock upon realizing that Yuusei's wild and burning eyes were filled with tears. Time seemed to move in slow motion as Yuusei's claws of fire approached Nanoha's abdomen, but just when it seemed as if the white devil would finally take a hit, she immediately conjured up a more powerful barrage of bullets.

[Axel Shooter!] cried Raising Heart.

"Shoot!" yelled Nanoha.

The blasts forced Yuusei away from her, sending him soaring through the air at an incredible speed before finally landing roughly on the grass beneath them. The auburn-haired boy groaned, but quickly picked himself up. "Damn it, I was so close."

_"You need to calm down," _advised Aerith. _"Attacking her recklessly will get you nowhere, Yuusei." _

_"But-"_

_"No buts," _retorted Aerith. _"I'm here too, but I can't do anything to help you if you don't fight with a clear head." _

Yuusei lowered his head looked toward the spectators. Everyone eyed him curiously, perhaps wondering what he would do now that Nanoha had managed to hit him with a solid attack.

There was silence.

Nanoha cautiously floated down toward him. "That was pretty good. While you didn't land a single hit on me, it was good enough to at least be of a B rank mage in our ranks. With a bit more training, I think that we could-"

"There won't be a _we _in anything yet," interjected Yuusei, as he struggled to his feet. "Th-This isn't over. Not yet." Barely managing to regain his footing, the auburn-haired boy stared down at his fists with a gentle smile. _"Fine. Calm it is. We're going in for another round. Can I trust you, Aerith?" _

_"Always. Just tell me what the plan is," _replied Aerith.

Glaring at Nanoha while summoning his divider, Yuusei answered, _"I need you to boost my body with your ability. I'm estimating that are chances of victory are nonexistent, but we should still be able to hit her with at least one or two solid attacks before we go down." _

_"Very well, but may I ask why you're so determined to take this woman down? She appears to have not consciously done anything of ill-will to you. I honestly don't understand where all of this rage is coming from-" _

Once again there was silence.

_"I just need to do this for myself," _answered Yuusei, _"That's all." _

_"Yuusei..." _

There was silence.

Nanoha finally hovered a few paces away from Yuusei, who remained motionless as he held his discussion with his unison device. "In a real fight, you won't have time to remain idle like this. Are you giving up?" Suddenly, Nanoha's eyes widened as she quickly sped away from Yuusei. Everyone's focus immediately shifted toward the boy while noticing that his aura was growing exponentially.

"N-No way," said Einhart, "His magical power is-"

"Growing," finished Vivio.

Signum crossed her arms. "It appears that he's preparing to use his unison device's full drive."

At last Yuusei's aura size peaked at an incredible size, becoming so vibrant that it was completely visible in the appearance of a gigantic red flame. _"Okay, it's active now, Yuusei," _said Aerith warily.

Yuusei managed to grin through what appeared to be a pain-filled grimace. _"How long do I have?" _

_"The toll on your body is too great. Even now, you will only have thirty seconds in this state before the boost begins to deal permanent damage to your body and your linker core." _

The boy growled like a feral beast before suddenly gasping and coughing. "Tch, crap!" The boy coughed and wheezed before finally coughing up a small puddle of blood. "Damn, even then, I still can't control it."

Alarm immediately spread across Koga's face. "Y-Yuusei, stop-"

"Stay there, Koga!" yelled Yuusei loudly.

Koga froze where he stood.

Huffing and wheezing, Yuusei hissed, "This is between her and me. I can't go on like this anymore."

"But Yuusei, if you keep fighting in that state, you'll-" Koga never got to finish his sentence.

Yuusei disappeared in a blur of motion. For a full three seconds, the boy was nowhere to be seen.

Nanoha cautiously looked around from head to toe. With Raising Heart at the ready, she thought to herself, _"Where could he have gone?" _

"I'm right here!" yelled Yuusei, who suddenly appeared above the white devil.

Nanoha barely had the time to hold up her staff as Yuusei's divider once again collided against her staff and a still-forming barrier. This time, a loud cracking noise sounded from her trusted partner. "R-Raising Heart!"

[It is fine,] replied Raising Heart. [He cannot be stopped without full power.]

Nanoha looked up at her son, whose eyes were like those of a savage beast. He growled, no, snarled at her whilst repeatedly slashing against the barrier that she was trying to form around herself. Closing her eyes and biting her lip, the white devil replied, "I know that."

_Crack! _

Finally, Yuusei managed to pierce the white devil's barrier, using the blunt edge of his divider to strike the side of her body and send her hurtling toward the grass beneath them. The white-clad mage landed with a mighty crash while the auburn-haired boy remained in the air and began to charge up yet another bombardment spell. "Put everything into this Aerith. This is our only chance!"

_"Very well," _replied Aerith.

With charging speed that caused even Vivio's mouth to drop, Yuusei unleashed a powerful stream of crimson light. What astonished everyone the most was the name of said spell. "Divine Buster!" The raging stream of crimson energy shot against the crater where Nanoha lay, obscuring her from everyone's view once the light engulfed her in a powerful explosion.

"Mama!" cried Vivio.

"Nanoha!" yelled Fate desperately.

Before she could run toward the white mage, Signum grabbed onto the enforcer's sleeve. "Not yet, Testarossa."

"But Nanoha, she-"

"She will be fine," reassured Signum. "Takamachi is a capable opponent. A mere bombardment spell isn't enough to take her down."

Oh and how right Signum was. Yuusei finally descended, crashing to the ground on his knees. He heaved and sighed before coughing and wheezing loudly. At last, he coughed up yet another pool of blood. "I-I got her," he said to himself quietly. Grinning to himself, he muttered, "I-I did it, Ivory. I won."

"You did manage to hit me pretty hard, I'm impressed, but I'm afraid that you've got a long way to go, Yuusei," said Nanoha.

Yuusei and everyone's eyes immediately darted upward toward the sky where Nanoha quietly hovered. She was just outside of the smokescreen and her barrier jacket was tattered and covered with cuts. Her body had a few scrapes from the blast, but she was still raring to go. Pointing her staff down at Yuusei, she muttered, "Restrict Lock."

[Restricting,] chanted Raising Heart.

Yuusei's eyes widened with alarm. "Oh no, I have to- agh!" Just as the boy attempted to pick himself up, ring-shaped binds held him to the ground. The auburn-haired boy's eyes narrowed while he wildly thrashed about in hopes of freeing himself from his binds. _"Tch, I don't have enough energy to deal with these. Aerith-" _

_"There's not enough time for me to free us!"_ yelled Aerith. _"Dodging is impossible in our condition and fighting back against what's coming could result in an even more powerful strike. Our only option is to fortify our defenses!" _

_"What's coming?" _Yuusei finally looked around with widened eyes. Several specks of pink and red magic were gathering toward a sphere of light forming at the tip of Nanoha's staff. "Crap."

_"He can't move anymore, this should finish things,"_ thought Nanoha. Raising her staff, she chanted, "Zenryoku zenkai!" The sphere grew even larger, causing the spectators to instinctively cast as many barriers around themselves -and the house- as possible.

Yuusei struggled to free himself from his binds, but to no avail. "Crap, they're not coming off!" Extending his hand forward, Yuusei conjured several defenser-looking shields.

_"I have maximized the defensive parameters of your shields, but is there anything else that you want to try?" _asked Aerith.

_"I've got a request: can you boost my body and magic any further than this?" _asked Yuusei.

Aerith froze. _"I-I can, but in your current state, you could -at the very least- destroy your linker core-"_

_"That's fine, just do it," _urged Yuusei.

Nanoha on the other hand was nearly done casting her spell. "Starlight-"

There was silence.

_"V-Very well!" _Within her dimensional space, Aerith yelled, _"Preparing for full-body boosting! Army of One!"_

Yuusei's aura flared up once more, this time becoming a flame larger than even Einhart's house. A fiery glow appeared in his eyes, reshaping his pupils to those of a feline's. He cried out and wailed in pain as he held out his hand and summoned even more barriers.

"BREAKER!" yelled Nanoha.

The pink energy laser of destruction roared to life, smashing against Yuusei's defenses and slowly tearing them away layer by layer. Yuusei could only gaze up at the blinding light of destruction as it engulfed his entire body.

_BOOOOM! _

A loud explosion tore through the neighborhood, leaving a large crater where Yuusei once stood. Everyone immediately ran forward to confirm the condition of the victim. To everyone's surprise however, Yuusei was still standing at the bottom of the crater. Staring up at Nanoha, he smiled before saying, "G-Guess I managed to go toe-to-toe with you after all. Hmm, Mom?"

Nanoha's eyes watered upon hearing Yuusei call her his mother. Floating down swiftly, she called his name; however, just as she was about to embrace the auburn-haired boy, the unthinkable happened.

"Gah!" Yuusei cried and twitched in agony as his body finally suffered the after effects of Aerith's full power. Crushed beneath the sheer weight of his amplified magic, he forcibly disengaged from Aerith and fell to the ground screaming in agony. His screams pierced the air as crimson sparks flew from his body.

"Damn it, I warned him," snarled Koga.

Nanoha could only stare in shock and horror. "Wh-What the?"

"Hey," yelled Koga. "He's going to die if we don't get him immediate medical attention! Whoever has Dimensional Transfer, get him to a doctor, now!"

Fate immediately ran to the boy's side and scooped him into her arms. The blond swordswoman flinched at the sheer heat of Yuusei's body, but managed to endure it with a bit of magic to numb the pain. "Is there anything that I should tell the doctor to look for?"

"Nah. They should be able to figure it out, but we don't have time to talk!" answered Koga. "He's got ten minutes at best!"

It was hard to hear Koga over Yuusei's screaming, but after noticing Nanoha's failing complexion, Fate immediately nodded her head and transferred Yuusei and herself to the medical bay. Nanoha immediately made for the sky. "I-I'm heading there too!" she yelled before bolting off into the direction of Section Six's medical bay.

Turning to the group, Aerith yelled, "I need someone to take me to him as well. If he's separated from me for too long, his condition may worsen."

"I will take you," offered Signum. Turning to the rest of the group, she said, "Let's move, everyone. There's no time to waste!"

Everyone saluted the Knight of the Sword. "Roger!"

* * *

_**Meanwhile...**_

* * *

Back at the Takamachi-Harlaown residence, Alicia finally feigned waking up. Yawning loudly, she asked, "Is anyone home?"

"Ah, you're awake," said Chrono while stepping into her room.

Alicia raised an eyebrow. Turning to her kitten-shaped alarm clock, it was already past eleven and her mothers weren't home yet. Perhaps even more strange, Vivio and Einhart had not returned either. "Where is everyone, Uncle Chrono?"

Chrono shifted his eyes carefully. "They're working on an important case. Want me to call-" before he could finish his sentence, the black-haired mage's cell phone began to ring. Looking down at the caller ID, he smiled at Alicia. "Looks like they're calling to check in." Answering the phone, he said, "It's me. How did it go?"

"We don't know what happened," answered Fate. "We secured Yuusei and a boy named Koga, but Nanoha and Yuusei got into a bit of an intense sparring match."

Chrono cocked an eyebrow. "That's pretty normal for Nanoha. I don't see the problem Fa-"

"Yuusei couldn't control his unison device properly and nearly killed himself beneath the weight of his own amplified magic," explained Fate with a stone-cold voice.

"Wh-What?" Chrono's facial expression immediately changed to one of flabbergast. "But that's ridiculous! Why in the world did he-"

"We don't know, Chrono," replied Fate. "Look, I need to go check on Nanoha. She's really upset and Yuusei still isn't available for visitors yet at the emergency room. Even Shamal looked a bit concerned when we brought him in." At last, the blond swordswoman paused. "There's a chance that he may not make it."

"Hold on, are you serious?" asked Chrono.

"Dead serious," replied Fate. "We won't be home for a few days, so it's alright to transfer Alicia to me. I'm sure she's wondering where we are by now."

"Y-Yeah, she was just asking about that," said Chrono. Looking back at a very curious-looking Alicia, he said, "Look, she's right here, so I can't talk about this right now. Can we talk about this more when we get there?"

"Okay, but let me talk to her first," answered Fate.

Chrono turned to Alicia with uncertain eyes before handing her the phone. "Mama wants to talk to you," he said gently.

Alicia carefully took the black phone and held it to her ear. "Hi, Mama."

"Alicia, are you doing well?"

"Un. I just woke up from a nap. Where are you guys? I still haven't gotten to show you my new barrier jacket," replied Alicia.

"Well, you will have a chance to do that soon. You and Uncle Chrono will be coming to the hospital soon. We'll be there for a few days," said Fate with a sad tone of voice.

Alicia's eyes widened with panic. "Oh no! Did someone get hurt? Are you and Nanoha-mama okay-"

"Yes, don't worry Alicia, we're okay," answered Fate quickly. "It's just that someone very important to Nanoha-mama is here and we're watching over him."

Alicia froze. _"Someone important to Nanoha-mama?" _An image of the boy with auburn-hair and blue eyes passed through her mind. _"Could it be?" _Suddenly, the concern in the little mage's eyes turned into irritation. _"No way. I doubt that any normal mage could ever take **him** down. He beat me to a pulp without even trying. He was toying with me! Ugh, just thinking about it is irritating!" _

"Alicia? Alicia? Are you there?" asked Fate worriedly.

The little mage immediately snapped to attention. "Huh? Oh. Y-Yeah! I'm here. What's up?"

"Okay, well we'll see you in about ten minutes. Be sure to remember a jacket. It's cold over here."

"You got it," replied Alicia.

"Alright," said Fate. "I'm gonna go. See you soon, Alicia. I love you."

"I love you too, Mama," answered Alicia while hanging up the phone. Looking up at Chrono, she said, "It looks like we're going to the hospital."

Chrono nodded. "That's right, so get dressed. Okay?"

Alicia nodded and immediately moved to do as she was told until she stopped at the door of her closet with her back turned to her uncle. "The person we're gonna go visit. Is it the boy with hair like Nanoha-mama that I saw in town tonight?"

The black-haired mage froze. Finally, he let out a laugh. "There are a lot of kids with hair like that, Alicia. I'm sure it's not the same person-"

"I heard you talking with Sis, Uncle," said Alicia quietly. Tears welled up in her eyes as she yelled, "Tell me! Why was it bothering Vivio so much?"

"Alicia-"

"Does she hate me? Is there something wrong with me? It's because I'm like that boy, isn't it?" yelled Alicia.

"That's not it at all!" yelled Chrono.

Alicia immediately ceased her tantrum and quietly opened her closet whilst gathering some new clothes to wear. "Let's just go already."

Chrono sighed tiredly. "If you want the whole story, I think you should ask your mothers about it. It's not my place to tell you, but maybe it'd help you understand yourself -and that boy- a bit more."

The blond mage's eyes lit with interest. "I," she paused, "I see." After finally grabbing the jacket that Vivio bought for her, Alicia turned around and asked, "So are you gonna stand there the whole time or are you gonna leave while I change?"

An awkward silence fell over the room.

"R-Right. I'll get out."

"Thanks."

With that, Chrono had finally left the room. Alone and finally able to think freely, Alicia gazed out of her window and pondered Chrono's words. "I guess I won't learn anything by just sitting around here."

* * *

Over at the Section Six HQ, Hayate was in the middle of receiving the most recent turn of events from Thoma. "So, Yuusei is currently in intensive care?" she asked quietly.

Thoma looked away. "Y-Yeah, that sounds about right." Remembering what Yuusei had said before losing control, the eclipse driver asked, "During the events, he mentioned Nanoha being his mother. Is there any reason for that-"

"There is," answered Hayate. "But if you want the truth, I think it's best heard from either Nanoha or the boy himself. It's a pretty touchy subject for the both of them."

Thoma remained silent before gazing over at the bookshelf near Hayate's desk. "By the way, why is Agito here? Shouldn't she be out working with Signum?"

"I've actually been here since this morning researching something for Signum," answered Agito while she flipped through a gigantic book. The cover was burgundy and the aged material made it obvious that the book was very old.

The eclipse driver took a quick peak at the book: "The Ancient Belkan Art of Swordsmanship." Thoma's confusion was written all over his face. "Signum's already a master swordsman. Why does she need you to look up something like this?"

"Ah, it's for Alicia. She wanted Signum to teach her how to use a sword like Laevatein, but Signum feels it best for Alicia to become more accustomed to using a sword like her mother's; as a result, I'm stuck here reading up on the proper technique for a similar sword," explained Agito.

"Oh, I see." Looking over at Hayate, Thoma asked, _"Does she know about the-" _

_"She felt the tremor, but I've already told her that things have been taken care of over there," _answered Hayate whilst filling out a white form on her desk. She sighed tiredly and looked out the window. "It's all still so insane. I never imagined that they were trying to produce an army of genetically enhanced warriors." Laughing bitterly, the commander muttered, "Then again, a lot of crazy things have happened in our lives, so I guess should be expected."

"I-If I may, Commander Yagami," interjected Thoma. "If Yuusei's got allies, I don't think that any of them are doing this because they want to."

Finally, some good news. While Thoma's optimism has a habit of being off-the-mark, it was a speck of hope that the commander needed in this situation. Hayate looked up. "How so?"

"Well, I spoke with Koga and Yuusei. They seem like good people. I think with a little trust, we could get them to help us convince others on their side to join us."

Hayate ran a hand through her hair. "I'd love for that to be true, but Yuusei attacked several civilians and we've already received a good amount of fatalities from the incident. This isn't a situation where I can just openly assume that he won't try to attack one of us upon waking up."

Thoma shifted his eyes uncomfortably. "What are you going to do with them then?"

Smiling, Hayate answered, "Nothing big. If we can get them to answer our questions quietly, we can hold them at our base for a while until we decide what we are going to do with them. Since they're infectees, we may be sending them over to your unit on Vaizen if we can't stabilize or treat their condition."

"Ah." At that, Thoma's eyes lit brightly. "Well, I'll take good care of them if they come by. They can stay with Lily and I until we find a proper home for them-"

"Thoma."

"Yes?"

There was silence.

At last, Hayate giggled. "Let's just hope that things go as well as you want them to." Standing up, she said, "Alright. Your unit's orders are to go over the boys' medical data with Shamal, relay the details of this discussion with the rest of our group, and to maintain surveillance on the boys. If possible, I'd like for the Grendels to report here as well. We'll be needing the extra man power in the event that any allies of the boys attempt to take them from us."

Thoma saluted his superior with a bright smile. "You got it." With that, he quickly left the room.

Hayate returned to her seat and heaved a heavy sigh. "What a day," she groaned.

Agito looked up from her book with concerned eyes. "You don't sound good, Hayate. You sure you don't wanna lay down for a while? I can take care of the paperwork-"

"N-No, it's fine, Agito," replied Hayate sweetly. "If you could, I just want some time alone."

"'Kay." Agito quietly strolled to the door, but as it opened, she turned around to take one last look at the commander. Her shoulders were hunched and she looked terribly exhausted. Remembering Hayate's wishes, she reluctantly left the room.

Alone at last, Hayate finally allowed her face to rest in her palm. _"The situation's already bleak regardless of what we do," _thought the commander quietly. _"The boys have already been put as wanted dead or alive and the both of them have several fatalities under their belts. We don't know the bureau's intentions, but Yuusei's access to a divider that we should have under lock and key already warrants enough suspicion that all of this is a big set up; however, refusing to turn them in based on a mere suspicion would be considered high treason. At worst, we could all be branded traitors to the bureau with anyone associated us being dragged into the conflict based on guilt by association. If I call the bureau now, it'll look suspicious if I ask for what kind of punishment the boys would receive while claiming not to have them in our custody." _Hayate leaned into her chair while looking over at her phone. "What should I do?"

* * *

_**At the hospital...**_

* * *

Chrono had finally arrived with Alicia. The little blond mage immediately surveyed their surroundings. They had teleported just outside of the emergency room where Nanoha paced frantically while Fate calmly sat and occasionally took a peak at her wristwatch. Vivio was perched on a bench across from Fate while being comforted by a concern-filled Einhart. Subaru on the other hand was attempting -without success- to direct Nanoha to the bench where Fate sat. The white devil however seemed to be too lost in thought to hear her favorite pupils words. Finally, there was Teana, the only one to notice Chrono's and Alicia's arrival. "Oh, Alicia's here."

Nanoha finally stopped pacing and turned to face Alicia. She wore a poorly-feigned smile while saying, "Hi, Alicia. Wanna show us your barrier jacket?"

While normally Alicia would happily jump up and down at a time like this, she took a moment to quietly observe her surroundings. _"Everyone looks pretty upset." _Looking at the doors of the emergency room, she thought to herself, _"Who exactly is behind that door?" _

Alicia's staring did not go unnoticed. Nanoha herself turned away to look at the doors sadly. "Right. We're here because someone very important to Nanoha-mama is behind those doors."

Likewise, Nanoha's quivering shoulders did not go unnoticed by Alicia. _"She's crying," _noted Alicia. Memories of the boy with auburn hair flashed through Alicia's mind. The boy who easily brought her down as if it were child's play. The same boy who probably could have killed her tonight had he not for some reason changed his mind at the last second. It was hard for the little blond mage to believe that the same boy could be so heavily injured.

Vivio finally looked up. "Alicia, why don't you show us your barrier jacket?" she suggested. "It might make Mama feel better."

Fate cautiously stood up and embraced Nanoha's back. "Shamal's in there with him. I am sure that he'll be fine," she whispered.

Nanoha's eyes fixed themselves on the azure tile beneath her. "I just wish I knew why he did it."

"Oh man, the snacks around here are awesome," said Koga loudly as he turned around the corner and appeared before the group. Taking note of Alicia, his eyes went wide with surprise. Strangely enough, a mischievous twinkle was also in his eyes. The chocolate-haired boy immediately swallowed his mouthful of chips so that he could speak. "Well, what a day! I didn't think that I'd get to meet Ivory's little sister here. You two really _do _look alike!"

Alicia tilted her head. "Sister?"

Koga blinked for a moment before shaking his head. "Oh, right. You probably don't know about that." Sauntering over to Alicia, he held out his hand. "Name's Koga. Alicia, right? It's nice to meet you."

"W-Wait," replied Alicia. His words had left her confused and there was something in them that stood out to her. "Who's Ivory? I don't have a big sister named Ivory." Smiling nervously, she asked, "Are you sure you don't have me mistaken with some other Alicia?"

Before Koga could reply, he looked up to find warning glares nearly flying toward him from Nanoha and Fate. Shifting his eyes toward another direction, he answered, "Y-You're right. My mistake. Sorry about that."

Taking his hand and shaking it, Alicia replied, "It's okay. Your name's Koga, right? It's nice to meet you."

Koga smiled until he realized that Nanoha was towering over him. "Y-Yes? What's up, Captain Takamachi?"

"I need to ask you a few questions. It's about the boy behind the doors," she answered coolly.

"The boy behind the doors? You mean-" he paused when he saw Nanoha's threatening gaze. "Right, the boy behind the doors it is. Uh, sure. What do you wanna know?"

"A few things, but this isn't a good place for this conversation. Wanna go to the cafeteria? I'll treat you to a meal while we're there," offered Nanoha.

"Ma'am yes ma'am!" answered Koga with a goofy voice.

When the two departed, Alicia immediately turned around with an even _more _confused look on her face. "Who was that?" she asked bluntly.

Vivio chuckled. "Well, we don't really know either. We found him while we were out fighting. He's a witness to a lot of what happened out at the crime scene, so we've brought him along for questioning."

"Crime scene? So someone was out there doing all of that?" asked Alicia with feigned innocence.

_"Good, she's playing along," _thought Vivio. "Yeah. We caught one of the perpetrators, but he got hurt really bad in all of the fighting, so we're waiting for him to get patched up before we ask him questions."

The little mage's eyes shone with interest. _"So they **did **catch Yuusei," _she thought to herself quietly. "What's gonna happen to him after he's all better?"

Vivio froze. _"Crap. I wasn't ready for that question." _The sankt kaiser laughed nervously. "Nothing too bad. We'll probably just ask him about what was going on and why he did it. After that, he may get to join the bureau like your mama did when she was little." Looking away, Vivio thought to herself, _"At least, I hope that's what happens." _

"Sorry I'm late," said Signum as she turned around the corner. "I was busy checking on Agito."

"Whew, I thought you'd never come and get me," complained Agito, who was toting around a gigantic tome.

Alicia stared at the gigantic tome blankly. "Hey, Agito, what's that?"

"This thing? It's a tome for swordsmanship," answered Agito. "With this, Signum here can teach you a nice sword style."

"Why not just teach me her style?" asked Alicia.

"My style is more focused on straightforward attacks. I don't think you're ready for that, yet," answered Signum.

Alicia huffed with dissatisfaction. "Please, Signum?"

"Alicia," chided Fate, "Signum has already told you no. It's best to learn what you can for now. I'm sure that when she feels you are ready, she'll teach you her sword style."

Signum smiled nervously and ruffled the little girl's hair. "In the mean time, I want to teach you something special."

"Huh?" Alicia looked up with curious eyes. "Something special?"

Looking back at Fate, Signum made an uncertain face. "Testarossa, your daughter made an unusual request while she was visiting our home the other day."

Fate's face reflected her surprise. "Oh? She never mentioned this. What was this request?"

"Oh, that!" exclaimed Alicia excitedly. "So, you're really gonna teach me _that_?"

"Correct," replied Signum. Looking Fate in the eye, she asked, "Since learning Belkan sword arts often requires a more physical fighting style, I was planning on teaching her the Belkan magic system." Eyeing the emergency room door, Signum thought to herself, _"Though there is someone else that I have an interest in teaching alongside her." _

"Yeah," said Alicia with a bright smile. "Uncle Erio's always doing cool stuff with both Mid Childa spells and Belkan spells. Vivio does the same thing, so _I_ wanted to learn how to do it too."

"Oh? Is that all?" replied a giggling Fate. The blond swordswoman looked up at the ceiling with relieved eyes. _"I guess it makes sense that she'd want to be like her big sister. It'd also give Alicia something to do while we work on this case." _Smiling, Fate said, "You two go right ahead."

The little mage pumped her fist. "Alright! This is gonna be awesome," she cheered.

_"Though I have to admit. Her flare for battle is **definitely **from Nanoha," _thought Fate quietly.

Finally, the door swung open. Shamal immediately emerged with a clipboard filled with notes in hand.

Fate was immediately by the Knight of the Lake's side. "What's the report?"

Shamal shook her head. "We managed to repair the damage to his linker core, but the unusual strand of the eclipse virus was actually discovered to be removable from the boy's system. With the way the virus was set up, it'd continue to mess with the boy's health to keep him reliant on medical check ups while keeping his eclipse powers limited to as long as they were able to give him temporary injections. Since we gave him the anti-body, we suspect that the virus will actually leave his system in about six hours. We took a sample for observation purposes, but with this, he should also be able to use his magic properly again."

"Anything else?" asked Fate.

"Well, this is the bad news," admitted Shamal quietly.

Everyone save for Alicia gathered around her.

"He suffered a terrible shock to his cardiovascular system when he attempted to use the full drive with his unison device. According to the device, she claims that the boost comes with the danger of stimulating the heart and overclocking it to insane speeds until it potentially bursts. Had he not arrived sooner, his heart would have probably imploded," explained Shamal.

"No way," said Vivio aloud.

"There's more," said Shamal. "What we couldn't undo was a strange link between his linker core and his unusual unison device. I asked her about it, but she explained to me that all she knows is that her linker core is bound to Yuusei's and that the link cannot be undone until he wakes up. Furthermore, the link can't be undone without his consent."

"Bound to?" repeated Subaru.

"Correct," replied Shamal. "Their linker cores are literally sharing their magical energy with one another. While this potentially allows either one double the energy, it comes with the risk of allowing either one to draw power from the other's linker core by force. Over-usage of such a skill could result in terrible backlashes that could at worst render someone unable to cast spells ever again. Moreover, this bond has extended to their hearts. Should even the unison device be killed, the boy is likely to die with her and vice-versa."

The room fell dead silent. "Is there any_ more_ bad news?" asked Teana quietly.

"One last thing," admitted Shamal. Looking away, she muttered, "He won't wake up."

Fate's eyes shot open, immediately assuming the worst. "Y-You mean."

"No, he's not dead. He's in what I'd call a coma-like state. I have no idea as to when he will awaken. It could be anywhere from next week -if we're lucky- to next year. His condition is fairly unusual."

Fate turned her back to the group. "I'll go get Nanoha."

Strolling beside Fate, Alicia asked, "Where are you going, Mama?"

The blond swordswoman smiled down at her daughter. "I'm going to get Nanoha-mama and talk with her for a while, but I want you to stay here. Nanoha-mama might get really sad while we talk about this."

Before Alicia could answer, Vivio immediately made to leave the building with Einhart tailing behind her. "I need to get some air," she said quickly.

Einhart looked back at the group apologetically before swiftly following Vivio outside.

Alicia's eyes shifted about the room quietly. The melancholic air in the room was suffocating. It made her want to cry. "I want to go with you," she said while looking up at Fate-mama.

Fate made to refuse, but Signum's shaking head suggested otherwise. _"Let her go with you," _said Signum. _"She can talk with the boy while you speak with Nanoha. For now, I feel it best that we lessen her worries." _

Fate sighed with defeat. "Alright." Taking her daughter's hand, she said, "Let's go, Alicia."

"Kay!" cheered Alicia. With that, the two made their way toward the cafeteria.

Signum remained beside the emergency room door with Shamal, Subaru, and Teana. "Teana, Subaru."

"Y-Yes?" chirped Teana and Subaru in unison.

"I want the two of you to look after Vivio and Einhart. In the event that the enemy attempts to attack us, it's best for the two of you to be outside and ready to receive them. Vivio's in no condition to fight and Einhart cannot fend off powerful opponents while protecting Vivio at the same time. I will join the two of you shortly. Go."

Teana hesitated, but Subaru immediately nodded her head. "Alrighty then, Lieutenant Signum." Turning to Teana and extending her hand, Subaru said, "Let's go, Tea."

Teana took her hand and nodded. "Right." The two immediately departed in the opposite direction of Fate and Alicia, heading for the entrance.

Shamal and Signum were finally the only two remaining by the emergency room entrance. "You can tell me," whispered Signum. "What is your honest opinion on the matter?"

There was silence.

"He will live," answered Shamal. "What I cannot be sure of is if he will ever be able to use magic again. His linker core nearly reset when we began the treatment."

"So long as he lives, then it is fine," said Signum quietly. "Takamachi and Testarossa probably could not bear much more than that." Suddenly, Signum stopped speaking. Her eyes went wide as she drew her sword and stabbed it into the soil of a nearby plant vase, smashing a small spy-bot in the process. "Tch. Damn. They're already coming." Running down the hallway in the direction Teana and Subaru just exited from, Signum yelled, "Shamal erect a barrier and remain on guard! Their target is probably the boy!"

Shamal immediately nodded her head. "Right!" With that, she closed the emergency room door and swiftly ran down the hall and into Yuusei's room. "Klarwind!"

[Wind Shield,] whispered Klarwind. Several green shields appeared around the room, covering the door and both of the windows.

Aerith immediately rose from her seat. "Is something the matter?"

"People are here and they're after the boy," explained Shamal. Eyeing Aerith's apprehensive body language, she said, "If you really care for this child, you will do everything in your power to ensure that no one takes him from this room. He nor you will survive if that happens. Is that understood?"

Aerith immediately took to standing beside the door with her fists at the ready. "Understood."

* * *

_**Meanwhile...**_

* * *

Outside, the sound of static electricity echoed in the night sky. "Aw, man! They found my spy bot!" whined a feminine voice. A young girl with silver hair done in twin tails groaned irately as her crimson eyes stared sadly at a completely-blank monitor with teary eyes.

"Worry not, Sofia. I'm sure that you can always get more," replied a calmer voice. A girl with red hair done in a pony-tail reminiscent of Signum's with emerald green eyes looked down at the hospital entrance through a pair of binoculars. Vivio and Einhart were sitting on the steps, having what appeared to be some kind of conversation with Subaru and Teana hidden behind two pillars near the door. "At the very least, they know that we're here."

"You 'worry not!' I bought that spy-bot with a good chunk of my savings, Hilda!" complained Sofia loudly.

"Shh, they'll hear you," warned Hilda frantically.

"Oh relax. They already know that we're coming anyway," replied Sofia dismissively. The silver-haired girl's eyes began to glow as a gigantic cluster of crimson spheres of light gathered in the night sky. Almost as numerous as the stars themselves, the crimson light threatened to dye the night in a shade of red. Grinning, Sofia muttered, "Besides, we have a pair of idiots to save."

Twirling a red, double-bladed lance, Hilda replied, "You're right. Let's do this!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

And so yet another pair of characters have entered the fray! What will happen now? Will Alicia ever discover the truth? Tune in next time to find out! Regardless of what you do, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter of _Magical War Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha: Photon! _


	6. The Silver Mage & The Crimson Gladiator

**[Record 06: The Silver Mage & The Crimson Gladiator]**

Not too long after those words left Hilda's lips, a gigantic volley of crimson lights rained down on the hospital entrance. The force of the explosion tore part of the street up while leaving several craters in its wake. People ran and screamed through the streets, leaving them completely vacated. Taking advantage of the smoke screen, Hilda and Sofia swiftly flew down to the entrance to find Vivio, Einhart, Subaru, and Teana already standing in their way, ready to fight.

"That's as far as you go!" yelled Einhart.

"Surrender quietly. You have a right to remain silent, but your sentence is likely to be smaller if you are cooperative during your interrogation," advised Teana.

Sofia smiled menacingly. "Uh, I don't think so." Without waiting for a reply, another gigantic volley of crimson meteors fell from the sky. This time, a few of them even smashed through the building.

Subaru's eyes widened with panic when she realized that Sofia's bullets were reappearing as swiftly as they were being fired. Not only that, they weren't aimed at them, but at the hospital! "H-Hold on! There are people inside of this hospital! If you take it down, you'll kill everyone inside."

"Well, that makes things easy for all of us, doesn't it?" replied Sofia with a sinister smile. "Hand Yuusei and Koga over and we'll leave quietly. We can pretend that none of this ever happened." Seeing that her demands were not going to be fulfilled, Sofia narrowed her eyes menacingly and fired another round of magical light through the top floor of the building. "Unlike most of you, I don't care about who I have to kill while I'm waiting for you to meet my demands. You can either hand them over, or I'll take this building -and the rest of you- down with them. I'm not about to let my ex-comrades divulge top-secret information."

_"H-Hey! Sofia, you don't really mean that, do you?" _asked Hilda worriedly.

_"Of course not. I won't hit the building hard enough to knock it over, but I don't care about how many corpses I pile up while we're waiting for them to give us what we want," _answered Sofia with a twisted giggle.

_"There are rumors that the two of them have defected. Rescuing them will only get them killed by Precia," _warned Hilda.

There was silence.

_"Where did you hear that?" _asked Sofia whilst raising her arm to fire another hail of crimson lasers.

_"Just before we left. Sora brought it up and told me that it may be best to take the boys and hide out for a few days," _answered Hilda whilst bringing her lance into a battle-ready stance.

Sofia shifted her eyes, taking note that Signum had finally arrived on the scene. _"Oh great. It's the sword-wielder." _

Signum brandished Laevatein and stared down her opponents. "I don't know what your intentions are, but threatening us will not get you anywhere-"

"Because the Knight of the Lake is in there protecting the building, correct?"

"Wh-What?" Signum's confusion skyrocketed. "How did you-"

"Simple. Magic's my specialty. If you're not careful, you'll get yourselves killed-"

"Like hell we will!" yelled Subaru as she hovered over the silver-haired mage's head.

"Subaru, now!" screamed Teana while she aimed Cross Mirage.

Sofia barely had time to react to the fact that Subaru was right above her and a red marker was aimed at her left leg. A gun shot rang out whilst Subaru swung her fist. To everyone's surprise however, neither blow landed. Sofia stood where she was, completely unharmed. The magic shot from Teana's Cross Mirage had been deflected into the concrete by a barrier while Subaru was currently caught in mid-air by Sofia's left hand. By some act of incredible strength, the silver-haired mage managed to keep Subaru where she was with almost effortlessly.

"Suba-" before Teana could anymore, a loud yelp left her lips as a shot magical energy pierced her right arm. She cringed and held her side whilst forming a barrier and kneeling. Sofia had shot her around the forearm, leaving her unable to hold both of her twin pistols. Another shot descended from the sky, taking out her left arm and leaving the sharp-shooting striker down for the count. In a blur of motion, crimson tendrils of energy appeared behind Subaru, aimed directly over her spine.

Vivio's mouth nearly gaped as she took in the twisted reality before them. "She's firing too quickly for us to see."

Einhart gripped her fist tightly while indiscreetly adjusting her footwork. _"This girl isn't kidding. It was faint, but I saw it. She sharpened the very end of the bombardment to have a spear-like tip. I can't catch those without risking it tearing one of my arm's off. If we don't at least attempt to compromise her, she will seriously try to kill us!" _

* * *

_**Meanwhile...**_

* * *

Alicia silently walked hand-in-hand with her mother toward the cafeteria. Her mother's shoulders were rigid and her facial expression was grim. "Mama?"

"Hmm?" Finally, Fate looked down with a warm smile. "What's the matter, Alicia?"

"Are you okay? You don't look so good," asked Alicia innocently.

Fate stopped for a moment before letting go of her daughter's hand and quietly embracing her little girl. "I'm fine, Alicia. Thank you for asking though." Standing up, she said, "What did you think of that boy. Koga?"

Alicia hummed to herself thoughtfully. "He's a nice guy, but he's a bit too weird for me."

The blond swordswoman giggled. "Really?"

"Yeah. Although, now that I think about it, he reminds me of Aunty Hayate," replied Alicia.

Fate continued walking, but her jaw visibly tightened. "Y-You don't say," she said with feigned laughter.

At last, the two found themselves at the cafeteria door where Nanoha and Koga were calmly sitting across from one another. The two of them were each eating a cup of pudding while exchanging what appeared to be a serious conversation. Fate's eyes narrowed before she smiled down at her daughter and said, "Wait for me here, okay? I'm gonna go check on Nanoha-mama."

"'Kay," replied Alicia.

The door opened and Fate stepped inside. Not even two minutes later, Fate and Nanoha stepped outside and turned to Alicia. "Alicia, would you mind keeping Koga company? We learned some important things about the suspect who attacked the town today and need to talk to Dr. Shamal about it."

Alicia looked up at the two aces with confusion evident on her face. _"Is Koga working with yuusei?" _Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, the little blond replied, "Okay. I will." After her mothers bid her goodbye, the little blond strolled into the cafeteria and took a seat behind a very serious-looking Koga. His eyes were glazed over, staring distantly at the wall on their left. Looking up at Alicia, his smile and goofy exterior returned. "So, they asked you to keep me company, huh?"

The little blond cautiously sat down and nodded her head.

"No worries. I won't bite. Unlike Yuusei, I'm a lot nicer," urged Koga.

"So you do know him," replied Alicia. She quickly grasped her lips, realizing that she had said more than she should have. Her original plan was to pretend as if she had never been at the scene of the crime, but now she had made it obvious that she was.

"That's right. Yuusei and I are pretty good friends. Sorry if he hurt you when the two of you fought. He's not a bad guy. He just has a few issues that he hasn't really had the time to work out," answered Koga apologetically.

"Issues?" repeated Alicia curiously. "What kind of issues?"

Koga looked away uncomfortably. "Sorry, I can't really tell you about that without Yuusei's permission. He might get mad." The chocolate-haired boy's eyes softened considerably as he tore his eyes away from Alicia's. Something sparked within them, something filled with sorrow and regret.

Alicia's curiosity spiked astronomically. _"What in the world happened?" _Thinking about Koga's comment from earlier and how he suddenly switched gears, she asked, "Hey, you didn't _really_ mistake me for someone else, did you?"

"Huh?" Koga sat back in his chair with a calm smile on his face. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know much about what's going on, but I know something weird is happening." Alicia looked away with frustration as she muttered, "The only problem is that no one will tell me about what is going on."

The chocolate-haired boy looked around cautiously. "Say," he began with a smile, "are there any cameras around here? Or maybe microphones that may catch what I'm gonna say next?"

Alicia raised an eyebrow. "N-No. Why?"

Leaning over the table, Koga whispered, "Because I want to tell you about what's really going on here."

* * *

_**Back at the battlefield... **_

* * *

The silver-haired mage flashed everyone an innocent smile. "It seems like the Hegemon gets it." Looking up at Subaru, Sofia said, "I hope that I'm not hurting you. It's my first time using magic to augment my physical strength." Her grip suddenly tightened, causing sparks to emerge from Mach Caliber. "I don't know if I can control it all that well yet."

Subaru screamed in anguish as small droplets of blood emerged from her hand.

Signum's jaw tightened. "What do you want?"

Hilda stepped forward with her spear at the ready. "Our demands remain unchanged. Hand over our comrades and we'll leave quietly."

Sofia fired unleashed a gigantic spread of crimson laser shots onto the hospital, destroying the rooftop and leaving the top floor completely exposed. Taking note of Signum's shock, she figured it was a good time to explain. "My magic is very powerful. A mere cleric's barrier won't be able to stop me."

"Why you!" yelled Vivio.

Just as the sankt kaiser attempted to charge the silver-haired mage upfront, Einhart spun around and prepared a stance from behind. "Haou! Dan-"

"I don't think so," replied Sofia whilst throwing Subaru directly into Vivio. The blunette flew so quickly that she slammed into the sankt kaiser and knocked her over. Twirling with the grace of a dancer, a red magic circle appeared above Sofia's right palm as she moved out of Einhart's attack radius. "Your moves are the most annoying, so let's do something about those arms, shall we?"

Before Einhart could react, several crimson chains bound her arms and legs. _"A bind? No problem, I'll-" _the minty-haired bruiser's were stopped cold when she realized that there were small spear like edges on the chains of the binding spell. "Wh-What the?"

"It's a special type of bind made for torturing and interrogation. If you try to free yourself with your body, the spear tips will tear into your muscles and leave you unable to move. It's the perfect cage for you, Ms. Unchain Knuckle," replied Sofia.

Vivio attempted to stand up, wobbling a bit before realizing that Subaru had been knocked onto her side after crashing into Vivio with her head. Blood was pouring from the hand that Sofia had grabbed whilst part of Subaru's cheek had been scratched when she hit the concrete. "Oh no, Subaru!"

Growling, Subaru immediately stood up. "I-I'm fine! She just got one of my hands."

[Dangerous to continue,] warned Mach Caliber.

Teana attempted to struggle to her feet as well before the red tendril that had been focused above Subaru's back approached her at incredible speed. With little time to react, she leaped out of the way, allowing it to destroy the sealed entrance to the hospital. Looking back at the shattered glass, sharp shooter thought, _"Damn it, she wasn't aiming for me in the first place!" _Cringing, she looked down to notice that the gash on her left arm had grown worse. Blood poured out of the wound whilst the scrape on the right side began to tear. "I can't shoot like this."

Signum attempted to charge the rogue mage, but Hilda charged forward and slammed her spear against the knight's sword. "Tch. Damn you."

"I'm sorry, but we don't have the luxury of sparing innocent lives today," replied Hilda quietly. Twirling her lance to force the weight of Signum's sword off of her, the red-haired lancer whispered, "Charge, Gungnir!"

[Heiligen Lanze!] shouted the crimson lance. Suddenly, the double bladed lance changed color, becoming gold and white instead of completely crimson. The emerald jewels near the blade tips however remained the same.

Twirling the lance once more, Hilda forced the Laevatein to the ground. Signum countered by turning her blade on its side and twirling her way free while attempting to spin into a horizontal slice; unfortunately, Hilda had already predicted her attack and adjusted her lance to slam against the blunt side the Laevatein, forcing Signum's spin to knock her off balance.

Sofia immediately made to charge forward when Vivio appeared before her with incredible speed. The silver-haired mage summoned a Round Shield to block the sankt kaiser's fist. As sparks flew from her shield, she said, "You're going to get yourself killed fighting me like this. I've already incapacitated two of your comrades and finishing off the one with the damaged device wouldn't be hard. Don't you think you're getting a bit reckless?"

"Don't you think you're getting a bit too cocky?" asked Subaru whilst charging a Divine Buster with her remaining hand. "

Sofia turned around with shock evident in her eyes. "So fast!"

"Divine-"

"Hmm." The silver-haired mage giggled. "Just kidding. I had a feeling that you would do that."

[Sonic Move,] whispered a metallic voice. With blinding speed, Sofia disappeared and reappeared behind Vivio whilst binding Subaru in the same crimson-colored bind that she had trapped Einhart in.

Subaru struggled against the binds. Her origins as a combat cyborg fortunately gave her an edge over a bind made to tear muscle tissue. "If you think this is gonna hold me, forget it-"

"I don't need it to hold you for long," whispered Sofia whilst licking Vivio's neck. "I just need you to stay still long enough for me to do this!"

Everyone's eyes widened as the silver-haired mage grew fangs and sank them into Vivio's neck. The sankt kaiser screamed as she was forced into her sankt kaiser form. The kaiserfarbe aura flared up violently before a rainbow colored linker core appeared above Vivio's bosom. Energy began to flow into Sofia's mouth, followed by a horrifying slurping noise.

Einhart paled as she watched the silver-haired mage violate her best friend. "V-Vivio!" she screamed in despair.

Subaru watched in horror as a crimson linker core and a black and blue linker core appeared above Sofia's bosom. A copy of Vivio's rainbow-colored linker core soon appeared beside them before they slowly sank back into Sofia's body. Likewise, Vivio's linker core soon returned to her own body as her aura finally receded and her body returned to normal. Once Sofia finally unlatched her fangs, Vivio fell to the ground, completely unconscious. A small amount of blood was left on Sofia's lips and Vivio's neck. "Y-You! You're a-"

"A monster? Maybe, but I'm_ not_ a vampire," joked Sofia. Grinning darkly, she added, "However, I _have_ copied your friend's magic. Her abilities are mine to command." To show off her point, the rainbow aura of the sankt kaisers appeared around Sofia's body. Disappearing with the power of Sonic Move, she appeared beside Einhart.

Einhart attempted to struggle, but the spear tips of the crimson binds bit into her arms. She cringed before returning to a more comfortable position. "I don't know what you've done to Vivio, but when I get out of here, I'll make you pay-"

"I don't think you're going to be doing that, Ms. Hegemon," teased Sofia. "I just want you to know that one of these days, you're next." The silver-haired mage disappeared before Einhart could reply, reappearing behind Subaru. "But first, I need to put you to sleep."

"Wait! Please stop!" yelled Teana.

_Bam! _

It was far too late. The ruthless demon mage had fired off a shooting spell through Subaru's side. Strangely enough, it hadn't pierced a vital despite Sofia's close proximity to the blunette. It was just enough to keep the blunette from moving. The situation looked even more bleak as the crimson lights in the sky drew closer to the ground beneath them. Flying into the sky, Sofia said, "We don't want to kill anyone if we don't have to. Stop resisting and we'll take our friends and leave."

Hilda and Signum repeatedly collided, blade against spear. For some reason, each strike against the Gungnir seemed ineffective, but every blow the Gungnir laid on the Laevatein seemed to be damaging it. Looking over at the chaos about the battlefield, Hilda sighed.

Signum's eyes narrowed as the two clashed and locked weapons. "Is something the matter?"

"Not quite," answered Hilda sincerely. "I just can't get over how ruthless she is."

Signum looked out onto the battlefield. She couldn't agree more. "Your partner lacks discipline." She swung her sword down on the Gungnir, only to have Hilda parry her blow and roll on the ground to attempt a rising slash.

"I couldn't agree more," replied Hilda as she attempted to go for a stab; unfortunately, Signum had predicted her attack and spun out of the way whilst charging a familiar, purple flame.

"One of those boys is important to someone dear to me! I won't let you take him," yelled Signum as she parried a vertical slash from Hilda's lance. She held her blade to the side and slide against the red-head's weapon in order to put distance between the two of them before raising her sword over her head. "Shiden!"

Hilda put even more distance between the two of them before pulling summoning a golden shield and holding her lance at an awkward angle more appropriate for a spear. "Gungnir!"

[Heiligen Speer!] shouted Gungnir.

Hilda's stance grew more threatening as her weapon transformed into a gold and white spear. With her green eyes focused on Signum, she thought, _"I'll have to keep the fight up from here. Sofia won't be able to last for much longer and someone's going to call her bluff sooner or later. She may be able to create that many bombardments, but she can't fire that many at once without wearing herself out. The fact that she copied the sankt kaiser's linker core just adds to it." _Tightening her grip on her spear, she muttered, "Hang in there, Sofia."

"Issen!" yelled Signum as she charged Hilda with her flaming sword.

Hilda replied in kind by charging Signum whilst clothed in an aura of lightning. "Donner Schalg!" The sword and spear collided, causing a gigantic explosion. Neither combatant could be seen beneath the dark haze.

* * *

_**Meanwhile, in the cafeteria... **_

* * *

Alicia and Koga stared at each other for several minutes. Neither blinked nor looked away. Alicia's face was covered with shock and confusion while Koga's was plain serious. A large explosion sounded, catching their attention. "Wh-What was that?" yelled Alicia.

Another explosion occurred, this time shaking the building. Koga sighed. "My guess? Our friends are here to pick us up." Standing up with a goofy smile on his face, the chocolate-haired boy said, "Well, looks like this is it. We probably won't see each other again, so it was nice knowing ya, Alicia-"

"Hold it," commanded Alicia. Koga stopped dead in his tracks. "You just said you were gonna tell me about what was 'really going on here.' You can't just leave!"

"I'd love to tell you, trust me," replied Koga, "But I think protecting your friends from getting killed is more important.

Another shockwave shook the room. This time, both Alicia and Koga were nearly swept off of their feet. The two stared at each other long and hard before Koga finally sighed with defeat. "You're as stubborn as she was."

Alicia made no attempt to answer Koga's cryptic words.

"I get it, I'll tell you," said Koga with a serious tone of voice. "I'll tell you the truth about us."

* * *

_**Back at the battlefield...**_

* * *

Sofia looked down at Teana, who rushed over to Subaru's side with battered arms before kneeling down to check on the blunette's condition. On the other hand, Vivio was unconscious and Einhart was struggling to free herself. Sighing tiredly, she thought, _"I can't rest up here forever. I need to at least get my hands on the Hegemon's linker core before we go and save Yuusei and Koga. Her abilities would prove useful and I probably won't get another chance like this." _Teleporting before Einhart, she seemed surprised when she was met with a cool and collected stare. "Is something the matter?"

"I've figured it out now," muttered Einhart. "Two years ago, there was an accident on a Ground Forces vacation trip. Sieglinde had gotten separated from the rest of us and had been found unconscious with a strange bite on her neck. Some time later, several civilians reported seeing Sieg using her powers to wreak havoc on the city, but because Sieg was already with us, it was dismissed as an impersonator though the culprit was never found."

Sofia smiled darkly before drawing closer to the minty-haired bruiser and licking the nape of her neck. "And you think that this mysterious impersonator was me?"

"It makes sense. You can copy our linker cores, which explains how you can copy someone's magic right down to the color; however, you also require our blood, don't you? That's how you can assume people's forms while completely copying our abilities," answered Einhart.

"Mm, that's half-right, but I'm not about to tell you the ins and outs of my ability," replied Sofia with a dark smile. Once again her fangs grew as she sank her teeth into Einhart's neck.

The minty-haired bruiser resisted the urge to scream as her armed form appeared and her silvery-green aura flared up around her. Her mana core was eventually copied and added Sofia's collection before finally disappearing. Huffing heavily, the minty-haired bruiser sighed with relief when the crimson binds disappeared, allowing her to fall to the ground. Her mind was fading in and out of consciousness, barely able to make out Sofia's image due to the severe loss of mana she had just suffered. She tried to get up and clench a fist, but her efforts were for naught.

At last the smoke cleared, revealing Signum and Hilda on opposite sides of the battlefield. Both were slightly scratched and burnt by their opponent's attacks, but they were both still in prime condition for battle. Hilda huffed and heaved before looking over at Sofia, who unsteadily cast a pair of crimson binds onto Einhart's legs to prevent her from giving chase. Once more, she cast the same bind over Teana and Subaru, but in the form of a giant cage of thorny vines. The two met eye-to-eye as Sofia whispered, _"Make an opening. I'm going in." _

Hilda nodded and charged Signum without warning. "Ahhhh!"

"Useless!" yelled Signum whilst parrying Hilda's blow. The counter would have been flawless had Hilda not re-spun her spear and held the blade to Signum's neck. Signum quickly paused to assess her situation whilst holding her own sword at Hilda's neck. Both were unable to move as Sofia cast Sonic Move and sped past them into the hospital. "Tch, damn it!"

The crimson gladiator remained steadfast, maintaining her only hold on the pink-haired knight. "You can follow her if you'd like, but you will have to kill me first."

Signum stared down into Hilda's burning eyes, seemingly searching for something. "Why do you go so far for those two boys? Didn't they betray you?"

_"Lie," _ordered Sofia.

"We can't have them spreading top-secret information. They need to be quarantined if they don't want to cooperate with us," answered Hilda.

"I don't believe that," replied Signum, who now held a stern glare over the red-headed gladiator. "The two of you fought too vigorously for a pair of mercenaries out to kill a few trouble makers. Moreover, don't think that I didn't notice your friend purposefully aiming her blows to avoid fatalities."

_"Tch. We were careless," _thought Hilda.

_"Hilda, what's wrong?" _asked Sofia.

Hilda sighed heavily. "We came here because we got word that the TSAB is planning to terminate us. Being associates of theirs, we did not to risk leaving the boys in your care. They're important friends of ours and someone dear to the both of us left one of them in our care." Her words were sincere, but they seemed to do little to move Signum. Bravely swallowing her saliva, the crimson gladiator said, "And we'd sooner have ourselves slain before abandoning one of our own."

_"You idiot! Why did you tell her the truth?" _yelled Sofia.

There was silence.

"So, that's what it was?" asked Signum. Sheathing her blade, she walked toward the entrance with her back turned to Hilda and the still-conscious Teana and Subaru. "Teana. Subaru."

"Y-Yes" The two answered tiredly.

"Get yourselves treated. I'm escorting the young ladies to the infirmary."

"Wh-What?" yelled Subaru.

"Lieutenant Signum," began Teana, "With all due respect-"

"It seems that there was a misunderstanding of sorts," replied Signum. "I will make sure that they are reprimanded for their wrong doings, but they do not have any malicious intentions at this very moment."

Hilda stared up at the pink-haired knight in awe. "S-So, you mean?"

"Yes," answered Signum. "I'll take you to them, but only after you call your friend back here."

"I've been here the whole time," said Sofia who suddenly appeared behind Signum. "I used Sonic Move to make it appear as if I had slipped into the building, and then used an invisibility spell once I was out of sight to sneak up behind you." Revealing a small dagger, the silver-haired mage said, "It was my backup plan in case you killed my partner."

Signum cocked an eyebrow at Sofia's shrewd plan, but shook her head and heaved a heavy sigh. "Very well then." Walking further into the building, she asked, "Are the two of you coming with me?"

Both Sofia and Hilda looked at each other before finally putting on a serious face and replying, "Yes."

* * *

_**Back at the cafeteria...**_

* * *

Alicia stared at Koga with confusion evident on her face. "The truth about us?"

The room was dead silent. Koga said no more, attempting to let Alicia digest the weight of what he had just said.

"H-Hey. What do you mean by 'the truth about us?'" asked Alicia.

"I mean exactly that," answered Koga. "The truth about us. What we really are. What we were made for. Things aren't all sugar and rainbows y'know."

Koga's sudden change in tone shook Alicia to the core. It scared her. "Does this have anything to do with us being genetically engineered children?"

"It has _everything_ to do with that," replied Koga. "We weren't made just so that our parents could enjoy the happiness that comes with parenthood."

Alicia's heart sank. She didn't want it to be about this, but somehow the topic she had been hoping to bury in her heart as a terrible nightmare had swiftly returned to haunt her. "Then, what _are _we for?"

Koga turned away. "Even I don't know what we're _for_, so to say. What I _do_ know is that our most ideal purpose is to be used as machines of war."

"War?" repeated Alicia.

"That's right," answered Koga. "We were made so that we could carry on the legacy of the strongest warriors of the multiverse." Not giving Alicia even a second of time to digest what he had just said, the chocolate-haired boy added, "And with the sole exception of you, the rest of us are currently employed with the sole purpose of ending the TSAB regime and destroying Mid-Childa."

Alicia gasped with widened eyes. The faint image of Yuusei standing amongst the flames at the scene of the crime slithered through her mind. _"It all makes sense now," _thought the little blond. Suddenly, she was self-conscious. As a daughter of two of the TSAB's aces, she was this boy's enemy if his story was true. This may have all been a trap to kill her! "S-So then-"

"Relax. I won't hurt ya," breathed Koga tiredly. Turning away, he said, "Yuusei and I have defected from Precia's side."

"Precia?" repeated Alicia. She paused, fear slowly building up as she asked, "You mean Precia, as in-"

"Exactly. Precia Testarossa. The mother of your mother's original," interjected Koga.

The sound of an explosion filled the room. This time however, the shaking floor fazed neither child. The two stared each other in the eyes for several minutes. Before Alicia could say something else, a feminine voice filled the room.

"Koga! What's shakin'?" asked Sofia loudly.

"Glad to see that you're okay," said Hilda.

Koga and Alicia turned to face Hilda and Sofia, who stood behind Signum. "Are these two friends of yours, Koga?"

Koga nodded, running up to Sofia and Hilda excitedly. "I thought I wouldn't see your lovely faces again," joked the chocolate-haired boy.

"As much as I'd love to play along," began Sofia, "Where's devil boy? I figured he'd be running about trying to escape."

"Uh, well," Koga stopped speaking.

Hilda tilted her head. "Is something the matter?"

"The boy over-exerted himself and nearly got himself killed in a sparring match not too long ago," explained Signum.

"What?" yelled Sofia and Hilda.

"Hold on," said Hilda. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," said Koga. "He went and decided to go all out like an idiot. He nearly destroyed his linker core and is currently in critical condition."

Sofia bit her lip and rubbed her right arm. "O-Oh, I see." Her eyes shifted from left to right sadly. Finally, her eyes settled on Alicia. Her smile returned faster than Fate in Sonic Form as she sped over to the little blond mage and brought her into a tight embrace. "Oh. My. GOD! You're_ so_ cute!"

Alicia flailed in the slightly taller girl's grip wildly. "W-Wait a second! Who are you and _why_ are you hugging me?"

"Oh come on," teased Sofia, "Don't tell me you're afraid of a little girl on girl-"

"I-I don't think it's a good idea to teach her that, Sofia," yelled Koga. "Her mothers might get mad."

"Well, they might as well get used to it, because I'm gonna be here for a _long_ time," said Sofia with a confident grin.

The little blond blinked confusedly. "No offense, but seriously, who are you?" Finally catching sight of Hilda, she pointed and yelled, "Better yet, who are _you_?"

There was silence.

"Allow me," said Hilda. Clearing her throat, she said, "I'm Hilda Beatrix and the girl hugging you is Sofia Leonhardt. This might be a bit of a shock for you, but she's also your older sister."

"Kuh!" Signum's eyes widened with shock.

"Kah!" Alicia's mouth hit the floor.

Metaphorical glass shattered within Signum's and Alicia's minds. Silence fell upon the room. The atmosphere grew even more awkward with each passing second.

Sofia, not able to read the mood, continued to stroke her little sister's hair. "I have always wanted to meet my younger sister! Who would have thought that she'd be so adorable? I mean, look at your face!"

Alicia took a deep breath, but no matter what she did, she couldn't wrap her brain around it. First Yuusei, then Koga, but now _this?_ Weirdos were showing up left from right and she simply couldn't take it anymore. Her mind had reached its breaking point. Her body paled, allowing her to ignore Sofia's cheerful ranting.

"Eh? Alicia? You okay, kiddo?" asked Sofia.

Finally, a loud thud sounded throughout the room as a pale Alicia with swirling, defeated eyes hit the ground. "N-No more," she said weakly.

Everyone in the room stared down at the baffled blond quietly.

Sofia broke the silence once more. "Haha, it looks like we might've broke her guys."

Koga and Hilda said nothing, opting to stare at poor Alicia with sympathetic eyes. _"Poor kid," _the two thought quietly.

Still just as confused as Alicia, Signum stared down at the pale child and thought, _"Well,** there's** a reaction that she got from Testarossa." _

* * *

_**Meanwhile, in the Emergency Room...**_

* * *

Shamal was standing beside Aerith in front of the room entrance until a quiet knock sounded against the steel door. "Who is it?" asked Shamal.

"It's Teana. Subaru and I are injured! Einhart is bringing Vivio," said Teana with a tired voice.

Aerith looked to Shamal for approval. When Shamal nodded her head, she carefully undid the barrier in front of the door and opened it for the two girls, only to be shocked by what she saw. Teana had two terrible gashes along where her forearms and wrists while Subaru appeared to have a few broken bones on the hand that Sofia squeezed. Her worries only grew when she took note of the terrible stab wound in Subaru's side. "Oh my gosh! Doctor!" yelled Aerith.

"I can see it," said Shamal quickly whilst placing Subaru out on the bed beside Yuusei. Remembering what Teana had said, she quickly ran out of the room and opened up the door to the room next to them. "We don't have enough room in here to treat this many people. I'm opening up another room!"

Teana tiredly sighed with relief as she sat herself down beside Subaru. She could barely lift her arms and the adrenaline from the battle was slowly wearing off. The pain was becoming more and more obvious to her, so much so that she was resisting the urge to shout with frustration. The fact that Signum had easily allowed the two assailants to enter the hospital after all of this perplexed her even more. _"Damn it! What was Signum thinking? Those two are clearly dangerous." _

"T-Tea," wheezed Subaru. The blunette attempted to sit up, but quickly yelped in pain when she realized that her right hand was no longer functional. Sitting up with her left hand to push her up, she let out a relieved sigh. "Don't blame Lieutenant Signum. I'm sure that she has a plan."

Teana remained where she sat with a dissatisfied face. Aerith on the other hand had found new fascination with the door. Taking a look over at the door, Teana sprung to her feet with Subaru's eyes widening in panic when they found Sofia, Koga, Hilda, and Alicia all together at the door with Signum. "Signum, what's the meaning of this?" asked Teana loudly.

Signum shrugged her shoulders tiredly. "It's a long story, but they mean us no harm, Lanster. Please step aside."

Reluctantly, Teana did as she was told. "Fine."

Sofia quietly rushed over to Yuusei's side. It was the quietest she had been since she had appeared. The silver-haired mage quietly brushed some stray hairs out of the boy's eyes before gently running a pale hand through his auburn hair. A warm smile appeared on her face. "You're always doing stupid things like this. One day, that's bound to get you hurt, you know?" Looking at him again, she said, "Though it looks like it's a little late for that warning."

Finally, Nanoha and Fate reappeared at the emergency. Nanoha froze stiff when she laid eyes on not just Hilda, Koga, and Yuusei; but Sofia stroking Yuusei's hair. Whether it be her motherly instincts or her inner devil, something in the white devil clicked as she asked, "Nyahaha, I'm sorry, but I don't think you've introduced yourself." Standing over the silver-haired mage, she asked, "Who are you and why are you so close to my son?"

Fate smiled nervously when she noticed an evil aura swelling around Nanoha's body. "N-Now, Nanoha, I'm sure that it's nothing like that."

Having understood Fate's words, Sofia smiled deviously.

Hilda and Koga, sensing Nanoha's malicious intent, paled and shook their heads vigorously whilst flailing their arms. _"Sofia, don't!" _they yelled telepathically.

Alicia on the other hand rubbed both of her arms. Even with her new jacket on, the room had suddenly gone deathly cold. "Brr, it's freezing in here!"

At last, Sofia gave the white devil a challenging smile before leaning onto the bed beside Yuusei in a provocative pose and replying, "I'm Sofia Leonhardt. Alicia's older sister and _this _knucklehead's girlfriend."

_SNAP! _

Everyone in the room heard the sound of glass not just cracking, but shattering. Signum felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of her head. Fate went pale with her mouth hanging wide open. Koga and Hilda clung to each other for dear life while Subaru and Teana tried to shrink into the safety of Subaru's hospital bed. Even Alicia, who had been immune to Nanoha's terrifying aura, swiftly hid behind her still-petrified mother.

The room was dead silent.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I heard that correctly," said Nanoha with a terrifying smile. "What did you just say?"

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

We've unlocked yet another pair of characters and these two seem even crazier than the last two! Will Sofia survive Nanoha's wrath? Does she realize that screwing with the white devil could get her killed? Probably not to say something like that, but we'll find out next chapter! This one's a little short because a lot happens in this chapter and I didn't want it to be overwhelming. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter and will look forward to the next one!


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